TODD AUSTIN, BROOKE RICHARDSON TAKE OUT THE BIRDSVILLE CUP

By Graham Potter | Monday, April 11, 2022

Trainer Todd Austin made it back-to-back wins in the Birdsville Cup when the hot favourite Echo Point trounced his opposition in the famed outback feature race by a whopping 4.25 length margin.

The event did not take place in 2020 because of Covid-19. Austin won the Cup with French Hussler in 2019) … but the club is playing catch-up this year with two Birdsville Cup meetings to take place in 2022, the one just completed and the other filling in its normal slot in September, where Austin will now be in line for up to a $15 000 bonus should be win both Cups this year.

Austin, who also won the Birdsville Cup with Primed in 2013, saddled five winners over the thirteen races which took place over two days to take out the Trainer Of The Meeting honours while Ric McMahon, with four winners, was the leading jockey.

The main bragging rights in the jockey’s ranks though, did go to Brooke Richardson, who now has a Birdsville Cup winner tick behind her name after guiding Echo Point to an effortless win.

Trainer John Manzelmann, who sent out the bulk of the runners over the two days, was rewarded with three winners and, most notably, he saddled the first five runners past the post in the six-horse race which kicked off proceedings on day one.