Home by Midnight ridden by Billy Egan wins the Launceston Cup

Home By Midnight raced clear in the home straight and under strong hands and heels riding from Billy Egan.

Jockey Billy Egan celebrates his win on Home by Midnight in the Launceston Cup at the Mowbray Racecourse. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

FORMER New Zealand stayer Home By Midnight led the way for an interstate domination of the Group 3 Launceston Cup at Mowbray yesterday, ploughing through a rain-affected track to score impressively over 2400 metres.

Home By Midnight ($11) raced clear in the home straight and under strong hands and heels riding from Billy Egan, the gelded son of Domesday put a space on his rivals and hit the line almost two lengths clear of Taikomochi ($6) with Dogmatic ($10) a close-up third.

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The Patrick Payne-trained gelding had not won a race in Australia from a dozen attempts but the trainer was confident he would be competitive in Tasmania and to top it off he rewarded Payne with his first major cup win in the state.

Jockey Billy Egan rides Home by Midnight to victory in the Launceston Cup at the Mowbray Racecourse. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

Payne was not at the track, but stable spokesman Joe O’Neill said the Launceston Cup was always the horse’s main mission.

“Patrick said the horse had come on at his two recent runs in Melbourne and chose Tasmania’s two major cups as his missions before heading to Sydney,” O’Neill said.

“This horse was very competitive in New Zealand in Group and Listed staying races and that’s one of the things that convinced Patrick to bring him to Australia.”

Jockey Billy Egan rides Home by Midnight to victory in the Launceston Cup at the Mowbray Racecourse. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

Egan said he was always travelling like the winner and was impressed with how the gelding attacked the line.

“This horse presented so well in the yard and that’s a tribute to stable foreman Tahlia Hope who has been in Tassie wit the horses for two weeks,” Egan said.

“He settled so well that I was confident a long way out that we’d figure in the finish but when I asked him for the big effort, he finished the race off brilliantly.”

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Taikomochi was game in defeat after looming as the winner half-way up the home straight and Dogmatic improved enormously from his Hobart Cup failure to grab the minor prize.

The John Blacker-trained mare Glass Warrior was first Tasmanian horse home in fourth spot, ahead of Tasmanian Derby winner Vamos Raffa and the race favourite Toorak Affair.

“The mare ran well but without luck early so I’m happy enough with the result, but she could have finished closer,” Blacker said.

Settler’s Stone was unable to finish off and in what was his first consecutive Launceston Cup, the gelding will be retired to take up a career as a show horse.

The well-backed Shady Hustle ($12 into $6.50) finished seventh but she is likely to stay in work and could progress to the St Leger in May.

The next thoroughbred meeting will be held in Hobart next Wednesday.