Last weekend’s double-header turned into a battle royale between leading riders Shaun Cooper and Grant Seccombe. The pair went “toe-to-toe” across two Cup meetings.
Cooper held on to a two-win lead in the premiership race thanks to a treble, which included the Cup, at Healesville on Saturday, but Seccombe put behind a frustrating day at Healesville by hitting back with a treble of his own at Mansfield on Sunday.
Seccombe had to settle for five seconds on the six-race program at Healesville.
One of those runner-up finishes was in the 1650-metre, $6,000 Healesville Cup aboard 2020 winner Riley’s Rocket, who was beaten by the well-timed ride of Shaun Cooper aboard the Ray Coombes-trained Dash for Dee.
Dash for Dee, starting the $1.60 favourite,  has been in good form on the circuit this season with a close second at Balnarring followed by a win at Woolamai on January 2. The eight-year-old son of Churchill Downs handled the back-up well to notch the ninth win of his career at start 66.
Cooper began the day with a win in race two, teaming up with leading trainer Don Dwyer to claim victory aboard recent Merton winner I Love Champagne ($1.50f).
The Nicconi mare is unbeaten since joining Dwyer.
Cooper was the punters’ pal again in race five when steering $1.40 favourite Molly Dook to a dominant 4¾-length win, with the Barry Goodwin-trained daughter of Ambidexter running well over a second faster than the Cup for the 1650-metre trip.
Among Seccombe’s near misses on Saturday was his second on Johnny Romance in race four. He was denied by three-kilo claiming apprentice Kiarna Bailey who brought up her first win as a picnic rider on board the Patrick Keane-trained Spirit of the Cape ($3.50).
Mal is the man
Six races were also run at Mansfield on Sunday with their Cup meeting taking on extra significance due to their 2020 Cup day being cancelled because of COVID.
The $6,000 feature over 1200 metres was taken out by the Alan Keenan-trained Maldestro ($2.90), a six-year-old son of Best Choice.
Part-owned by Winning Post contributor Matt Stewart, Maldestro is in good form, having also won at the Drouin Boxing Day meeting.
It was the third leg of rider Grant Seccombe’s treble. He earlier saluted on the Christopher Diplock-trained Crooked Hilary ($1.60f), another in-form horse on the picnic circuit having won three on end this season.
Seccombe also joined with Troy Kilgower to land race four on the card with last-start Drouin winner Lucky Dozen ($2.20) denying the Cooper-Dwyer combination represented by the odd-son favourite At Large, who was a length away in second.
Cooper and Dwyer didn’t leave Mansfield empty handed, however, as they combined for victory in the final race with King of Prussia mare Peggy Rose ($2.20) who was having her first run for the stable.
Double for Grace
Jockey Tim Grace claimed the 2019 Mansfield Cup for his father Timothy on Miss Vonlozzi and the pair were in the winners’ circle again at the 2021 meeting.
Grace the jockey snared a double, firstly scoring on the Jarrod Robinson-trained Mutapa ($3.60) in the 1600-metre maiden, before combining with his father to take the open trophy over the same distance with Kuroshio five-year-old Another Prince ($2.90).
The picnic circuit heads to Woolamai this Saturday.