The bulk of the nominations for Sunday’s Hobart Cup are from interstate

Of the local nominations for Sunday’s $250,000 Group 3 Hobart Cup (2400m), last Saturday’s Summer Cup winner Toorak Affair looms as the best winning chance while last season’s Tasmanian Oaks winner Shady Hustle also has claims.

Jockey James McDonald rides Naval Warfare to victory in race 4, the Membership Handicap during Warwick Farm Race Day at Warwick Farm Racecourse in Sydney, Saturday, December 22, 2018. Picture: Simon Bullard/AAP Image

THE bulk of the nominations for Sunday’s $250,000 Group 3 Hobart Cup (2400m) are from interstate and include runners from two of Australia’s leading stables – Chris Waller and Gai Waterhouse.

Waller has nominated the well-performed Naval Warfare, while Waterhouse will bring Taikomochi that scored an impressive win in the Australian Day Cup (2400m) at Warwick Farm last week in which Naval Warfare was an eye-catching second.

Of the 16 horses nominated for the race, nine are from interstate with Naval Warfare and Taikomochi the best-performed of the group.

The balance of the interstate nominees hail from Victoria with Richard Laming nominating Dogmatic, He Ekscels and Mitrust, that contested the weight-for-age Summer Cup at Elwick on Saturday in which he finished fourth but beaten 12 lengths by local mare Toorak Affair.

Popular Victoria trainer Patrick Payne yesterday confirmed he will be bringing Home by Midnight for the race and he has been placed second at his past two starts at Caulfield, the latest over 2400m.

“We targeted the Hobart Cup as a nice race for Home by Midnight a while back and I have been very pleased with his progress heading to the Hobart race,” Payne said.

“He has had four starts this time in and I couldn’t be happier with his condition heading to Sunday’s race.”

Ciaron Maher and David Eustace are keen to bring their experienced stayer Yogi to Hobart as he prepares for another tilt at the Sydney Cup.

The Richard Litt-trained Morton’s Fork is the other entry from NSW, and he comes off a last-start sixth in the Australia Day Cup at Warwick Farm.

Of the local nominations, last Saturday’s Summer Cup winner Toorak Affair looms as the best winning chance while last season’s Tasmanian Oaks winner Shady Hustle also has claims.

The $150,000 Group 3 Bow Mistress for fillies and mares over 1200m has attracted 20 nominations of which 11 are from interstate.

Connections of star Tasmanian three-year-old filly Deroche have lodged a nomination but they will wait another day to see how she has recovered from her effortless win in the 3YO Carbine Club Plate at Elwick last Saturday before making a final decision on whether to accept.

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Trainer Adam Trinder has nominated Twitchy Frank that was second in last year’s Bow Mistress before going on to win the Group 3 Vamos Stakes in Launceston.

Man of his Word, prepared by Dean Krongold at Mornington, is the sole interstate invader nominated for the weight-for-age $100,000 Thomas Lyons (1400m) but the race boasts the best sprinters in Tasmania in Hellova Street, Mandela Effect, I’m Wesley and Blaze Fourth.

Tasmania staying filly Still a Star, that was sensationally scratched from last Saturday’s Tasmanian Derby, is one of 18 nominations for Sunday’s $100,000 Strutt Stakes for fillies that is a lead-up to the Tasmanian Oaks.

The David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig stable have nominated last-start 2000m Ararat maiden winner Sacred Valley while the Anthony Freedman stable should accept with Rice Queen that won her maiden over 2050m at Moe two weeks ago.