SECOND AGAIN! TWO TOP EFFORTS BUT NO CIGAR

By Graham Potter | Monday, September 30, 2024

Second is better than third … no question … but there was an element of pain and disappointment attached for the connections of the second placed horses in both the Toowoomba Cup and the Weetwood at Toowoomba on Saturday.

The Corey and Kylie Geran trained Nikai Spur finished second in the Cup and the Tony and Maddysen sears trained Yellow Brick finished second in the Weetwood … just as they had done the previous year.

Adding to the agony was the fact that neither runner was well beaten, a scenario which could have made a runner-up finish more palatable on the day.

In the Cup, Nikau Spur did not have an easy passage. He was inconvenienced a number of times in the run, before edging out into clear galloping room shortly after straightening and then producing a strong, come from behind finish which carried him to within a fast closing 0.50 lengths of the winner Red Wave.

In last year’s edition of the Toowoomba Cup, Nikau Spur went down to Military Gambler by a one length margin. Officially second best both times … but not by a lot!

In the Weetwood, Yellow Brick could not have been more valiant in chasing home the end-to-end winner Hidden Wealth, who needed every bit of his 7.5kg advantage at the weights over Yellow Brick to get home with half-a-length to spare.

In last year’s edition of the Weetwood, Yellow Brick went down to All That Pizzazz by the proverbial whisker when also under sufferance at the weights, then giving the winner 4kg.

In essence, both Nikau Spur and Yellow Brick were actually adding to their proud records … with Nikau Spur being a seven time-winner with ten minor placings from thirty-seven starts, while the far more lightly raced Yellow Brick is also a seven-time winner, with seven minor placings, from only sixteen starts.

Win some … lose some, but the set of connections of these two horses (Nikau Spur was on-sold after eighteen runs) will take some consolation in the fact that, between them, Yellow Brick ($1 567 850) and Nikau Spur ($408 532) have earned just a little shy of $2 million.

That might not take away the disappointment of defeat in the moment, but it certainly makes it easier to move forward in a game where, because so many things can go wrong, you have to be grateful for what you get, and not linger too long on what you miss out on.

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