MILITARY KINGS UPSTAGES FESTIVAL PRINCE IN THE WARWICK CUP TO CLAIM A LOCAL VICTORY

By Graham Potter | Saturday, October 8, 2022

Festival Prince found one too good for him on the day when he attempted to add the Warwick Cup to his trophy list on October 8.

The Matt Kropp trained five-year-old had won the Dalby Cup in his previous outing and he started a $3.50 second favourite when going out in search of a Country Cups double, only to be upstaged by the unheralded $17 chance Military Kings, who made it a home-town victory for the Warwick based trainer Les Clarke.

There could be no excuses for any of the beaten runners after Military Kings came from well off the speed, chasing home as the widest runner of those in contention in the home stretch and charging away late to land the win by a telling 3.30 length margin.

In the end, Festival Prince did well to fight on for second place as he was under immense pressure from horses all around him in a torrid run home.
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Two races earlier, Calm Seeker had already ensured that the Kropp stable would go home with a winner when he took out a BM60 Handicap over 1350m.

The five-year-old son of Complacent was second-up here and he came into the race with a fair recommendation after finishing a close-up second in his first-up run at the Sunshine Coast in a BM62 Handicap over 1200m just ten days earlier.

Alisha Donald was in the saddle this time and she would have enjoyed the view on the $3.10 favourite as Calm Seeker destroyed his opposition, coming right away in scintillating fashion in the home straight to open up to claim victory by a very impressive 6.30 length margin.

Calm Seeker certainly took no prisoners.

This was Calm Seeker’s fourth win from twenty-five starts and his prize-money earnings now sit at just shy of $100 000.