Warrnambool Cup winner Mystery Island set for $500,000 Country Cups Final

Trainer Shane Jackson has long had his eyes on the $500,000 prize for Warrnambool Cup winner Mystery Island in Saturday’s Country Cups Final.

There was little mystery in trainer Shane Jackson’s plans after May’s Warrnambool Cup.

Mystery Island strode to an easy win in the final feature of the three-day May carnival but Jackson’s mind quickly turned to the spring.

Winning the Warrnambool Cup comfortably qualified Mystery Island for Saturday’s $500,000 Country Cups Final (2000m) at Caulfield.

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Jackson just needed to work out how to get the stayer to Caulfield without losing too much dash.

The former top jumps jockey wanted to maintain Mystery Island’s rating of 90, meaning other country cups were out of the question in the early spring.

“We’ve set him for this race and this country cups series is a great initiative,” Jackson said.

“His rating went to 90 after he won the Warrnambool Cup so he was out-weighted in some of the lesser country cups.

“We decided to target this race and we didn’t have to go chasing points this prep to get in.

“Going to a country cup worth 30 or $40,000 and losing a couple of points when this was the main objective would have been a bit silly.”

Mystery Island has performed solidly at both city runs in the lead-up to Saturday’s Country Cups Final. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images

Jackson decided to give Mystery Island two city runs to prepare him for Saturday’s test.

The Japanese-bred galloper finished sixth in both outings, the first at Sandown in September before the eight-year-old took on Group 3 company in the Coongy Cup.

“In the Coongy, they crawled and it didn’t suit him. They just went too slow,” Jackson said.

“We went there to have a look at Caulfield because he’d never raced around there.

“We didn’t think he could win it but we were going there to run well and they just crawled and sprinted a bit better than he can but I thought he still ran very well.”

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Mystery Island is likely to get the stronger tempo he needs in the Country Cups Final with the likes of Keats, Arran Bay and Lottaroc likely to roll forward.

Jackson said top jockey Craig Williams would have no set plan for the early part of the race, which he said would allow Mystery Island to produce his best in the straight.

“He can sometimes be a little bit slow away and he’s a horse that you can’t force into a position,” Jackson said.

“If you go hunting for a position early, he resents it.

“He’s got a huge finish when he can do things his own way throughout the race.

“It’s a big prize and I think he’s in good order.”

Originally published as Warrnambool Cup winner Mystery Island set for $500,000 Country Cups Final