Dubbo gelding Cardiff Prince has earned a spot in the $140,000 Wagga Gold Cup after finishing in a dead heat for victory at the $30,000 Kooringal Stud Murrumbidgee Cup on Sunday, much to the delight of trainer Darren Hyde.
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After his performance in the Murrumbidgee Cup, Hyde is eager to see how his runner goes against top quality opposition, which is expected to come from some of the leading stables in NSW, including those of Gai Waterhouse and Chris Waller.
On Friday, May 1, Hyde will take Cardiff Prince back to Wagga for the cup and he said it is a career-defining moment for both trainer and horse.
"This is the biggest race I have been a part of and I might not get the opportunity again so it will be one to enjoy," he said.
"I don't know whether he is quite up to listed class yet but he is a real trier and I know he won't disgrace himself.
"He's going to be up against the likes of the Wallers and the Waterhouses, the real powerhouses of Sydney and probably Melbourne, because of the prize money that is on offer."
Hyde has been blown away by the form of the Southern Image x Trist A Girl progeny, especially in the last 12 months, where he has won seven of 18 races and finished on the podium in another five.
On Sunday he had to start from the widest barrier and took on a quality field. After working his way to the front, he looked in the box seat before It's A Virtue came steaming down the outside and crossed the line at the same time.
Hyde said he was concerned about drawing the outside barrier and knew it would take a good ride from jockey Mathew Cahill to have the five-year-old in contention.
He was watching the race on a screen at the track and initially felt Cardiff Prince had done enough.
"I thought he'd got there but the stewards called for a photo then they called for a developed print so I started to get concerned. They couldn't find any way to separate them. Mat said he wanted a look and the stewards invited both sides in to have a look," Hyde said.
"We looked very closely but couldn't find a single thing to split the two, in the end both sides were happy to share the win."
Hyde has been heavily involved with Cardiff Prince since the beginning of his career, helping to break him in for original trainer Tommy Mulholland and then taking over the gelding's training when Mulholland passed away.
Hyde said he was honoured that Mulholland's daughters had allowed him to take over the training.
"Tommy always said he wouldn't begin to peak until he was a five-year-old and basically since he became a five-year-old he has gone to another level," he said.
"He's not a big horse. On Sunday I was walking through the stables past all these horses that were built like German tanks and here is this little chestnut from Dubbo that stuck it to them.
It was that ability to punch above his weight that Hyde believed has given Cardiff Prince a supporter base in Dubbo.
"He's developed a bit of a cult following. They tell me at the Macquarie Inn on Sunday the roar was deafening when the Prince got to the lead and I have had people come up to me in the street and ask how he's going and when he will be racing,"
"If he could get a win in Wagga, I think that would be a win for Dubbo."
