Hobart Cup the only feature race the Trinder family hadn’t won
Toorak Affair’s career-best win at the Hobart Cup has delivered a fitting final link of feature race wins for trainer Michael Trinder.
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A YEAR ago trainer Michael Trinder was battling cancer and his future as a trainer looked bleak.
But like everything else the 70-year-old has done in his life, he tackled the illness head-on and along the way a mare named Toorak Affair arrived in his stable.
At Elwick on Sunday Toorak Affair ($3.40 favourite) delivered a career-best effort to win the Group 3 Ladbrokes Hobart Cup over 2400m to give the Trinder family the final link in its chain of feature race wins in the state.
“The Hobart Cup was the only feature race the Trinder family hadn’t won, so it is especially nice to have finally put that anomaly to bed,” Trinder said.
STRAIGHT SHOOTER TRINDER HAPPY TO STAY PUT
“I have a lot of people to thank for helping this mare to get to where she is today and that includes my son Adam who was there for me when I wasn’t well and his advice along the way to winning this race also was invaluable.
“I have always believed in this mare as a stayer and when the horse lugged my weight in trackwork most days and thrived on the work, I was convinced she would be good over longer ground.”
Trinder’s battle with cancer didn’t dampen his enthusiasm for training horses, in fact he thrived on it.
“This might sound strange but I enjoyed the experience [cancer and subsequent treatment] because I got to meet some wonderful people that I might otherwise not have met,” he said.
“I got through it and I’m back doing what I love most and that’s training horses.”
Toorak Affair’s rider Anthony Darmanin was elated after the win.
“I am thrilled for Michael and the owners who stuck with me through this campaign and it also gave me a win in a race that I hadn’t won,” Darmanin said.
“I must admit I didn’t think this mare would be any good beyond 1600m, but Michael [Trinder] kept telling me she will stay and he was so right.”
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Darmanin had the mare perfectly placed fourth in the one-out line with cover and she peeled out three-wide to challenge the leaders and swept to the front off two other local mares Shady Hustle and Glass Warrior to give Tasmanian horses the trifecta.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Taikomochi ($3.70) battled on gamely to finish fourth and Exoteric ($31) was an eye-catching fifth only 2½ lengths from the winner.
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