Image: Bruno Cannatelli
A win in the Pakenham Cup would make for an unforgettable celebration for Emma-Lee and David Browne.
Trainers Emma-Lee and David Browne have decided to play the dice with Statuario again in a bid to win their local cup in Pakenham.
The New Zealanders, who have been in Victoria since April 2022 and initially had a base in Cranbourne, have been in Pakenham since the start of the 2023/2024 season.
Success has been steady, but a Statuario win in the Listed Pakenham Cup (2500m) on Saturday would likely spark a huge celebration at the nearby Garfield Hotel.
“It would be great to win the local cup,” said Emma-Lee Browne.
‘And I think the party at the Garfield pub would be wild.
“It’s nice to have runners on the day and being from the area, hopefully it’s a good day.”
Browne said the plan to advance to the Pakenham Cup only came about after Statuario was in excellent form following his third-place finish in the Listed Ballarat Cup (2000m) last Saturday.
That run followed Statuario’s last in the Listed Cranbourne Cup (1600m) on November 22.
Browne said if all had gone according to plan, Statuario would already be in the paddock, but the husband-and-wife training team believes the gelding has another start in him.
“It was one of those unlucky races at Cranbourne that he couldn’t get out of and there was little he could do about it,” Browne said.
“He was much better the other day, but he probably came late because of that run at Cranbourne. He peaked late, but given that, if he had had two hard runs in a row, we probably wouldn’t be here.
“The horse is doing really well. We are very happy with how he has come through Ballarat, but we don’t want to see too much rain on Saturday so we are keeping a close eye on the weather.
“We would have liked to see a slightly more economical draw, but it probably forces our hand to ride him calmly and I think that’s when he’s at his best sometimes.”
Earlier this year Statuario showed his continued promise with a win at Caullfield before finishing second in the Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m) at Morphettville.
The Browne’s will also be represented by Bifrost in the Shawn Mendis Lawyers Handicap (1000m) and Rhinoceros in the David Bourke Memorial (1600m).
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