A MATT KROPP TREBLE

By Graham Potter | Saturday, October 15, 2022

Matt Kropp saddled three winners on October 15.

The first winner off the rank was the six-year-old gelding Anacheeva Lad who saluted in a BM55 Handicap over 1400m at Mitchell.

The son of Anacheeva, who was having his eighth start for the Kropp stable since transferring from trainer Nick Walsh, came into the race on the back of two starts at the Sunshine Coast.

In those races he finished eighth (behind what looks to be a relatively smart one in the form of the David Vandyke trained Smytzer, who would go on to race in town at his next start) and fourth (behind the Kelly Schweida trained Ronlee Gal.

Those runs had Anacheeva Lad well placed here and he duly got the job done as the $2.60 favourite as two claiming apprentices … the 3kg claiming Sarah Robbins on Anacheeva Lad and the 4kg claiming Amy Graham on the $3 second favourite Buddy Ollie … fought out the finish.

The winning margin was one length.
________________________________________________________________________

Three races later the Spirit Of Boom gelding Coyne’s Gold gave Matt Kropp the second leg of his double at the Mitchell meeting when winning the Booringa Cup.

Already a seven-time winner going into the race, Coyne’s Gold ($5.50) added to his tally by outgunning the $1.60 short-priced favourite Tango Tino to score by a 0.20 length margin.

John Rudd did the honours in the saddle, ironically beating Sarah Robbins, who had ridden the earlier Kropp trained winner at the meeting, into second place.

Coyne’s Gold has now won eight of his thirty starts (with six minor placings) for prize-money earnings of $83 450.
_______________________________________________________________________

But wait there’s more.

There was still time for Flying Joy to shed his maiden ticket and that is exactly what the lightly raced daughter of Miki Isle did when taking out a Maiden Handicap over 1625m at the night meeting at Toowoomba on October 15.

Flying Joy had started her career with Kelly Schweida at Eagle Farm, but she didn’t race for him as she only had two trials at that stable.

More than a year after her second trial, Flying Joy made her debut under the Matt Kropp banner in which she finished in a creditable third place.

She started at $31 on that occasion and then followed up with an unplaced finish (at a price of $17) and a fourth placed result (at $9.50).

If the price indication trend was anything to go by, Flying Joy was about to produce something when she stepped out at Toowoomba because she was now very much in favour on the betting boards, starting second favourite at $3.10.

That judgement proved to be spot on as Flying Joy proved to be good enough to claim her first career victory.

Nathan Evans had Flying Joy in last place, all of six, then seven, then eight lengths off the lead as the $11 chance Fear The Truth tried to clear out at the head of affairs.

That deficit was back to six lengths approaching the home turn, but Evans now had to take hold of Flying Joy, whose head could be seen turning sharply to her left as Evans asked her to shift out wider, before letting her loose as they came to the turn where they cornered four wide.

Flying Joy was now under full acceleration, to the point that she was quickly up to fourth place on straightening and right up alongside the new leader Captured In Time (the $2.35 favourite) within a couple of strides.

These two runners then joined issue in a stride for stride battle to the line where Flying Joy, in spite of wanting to hang in, prevailed by a 0.20 length margin.

Win number one was in the bank after only four starts.

More articles