Tavistock's Times Ticking Wins G3 Canterbury Gold Cup

Media Release - Saturday April 22

The combination of trainer Alby MacGregor, jockey Jacob Lowry and warhorse Times Ticking proved once again that Riccarton is their happy hunting ground when they combined to win the feature race of the day, the Gr.3 Coca Cola Canterbury Gold Cup (2000m).

Times Ticking is clear in the Gr.3 Coca Cola Canterbury Gold Cup (2000m) Photo: Race Images South

The trio had taken out the main lead-up event to the weight-for-age contest seven days earlier when successful in the Listed Avon City Ford Easter Cup (1600m), although MacGregor wasn’t on course to cheer his champ home, preferring to do that from the comfort of his Opaki lounge that day.

MacGregor wasn’t missing Saturday’s live performance and he had plenty to be thankful for as Lowry produced another copybook ride to land the son of Tavistock an imperious two-length winner

Lowry had Times Ticking smoking his pipe in midfield for most of the race before defying the wide-running pattern of the day by cutting underneath runners on the home bend and saving many lengths.

Lowry shot his mount clear and the pair maintained their advantage to the finish line as they defeated a gallant Capo Dell Impero with Lightning Jack filling third.

For MacGregor it was the culmination of months of planning and an extremely satisfying result.

“It was a great thrill and we will definitely be enjoying ourselves tonight,” he said.

“We planned to come south for the two races and we have been lucky enough to win them both.

“He is a pretty durable and tough bugger and he showed that.

Advertisement

“I’ve got him back in a paddock now and he has his head in his feed bin, scoffing the lot so he looks like he will pull up pretty good from the race.”

MacGregor was pleased with how his charge travelled during the running but wasn’t too sure when he saw Lowry take an inside run coming to the home turn as the majority of winners on the day had swooped home down the outer of the track.

“He (Lowry) came back in and told me that we didn’t do everything to the plan but the horse was going that good he thought he might as well save as much ground as possible and put him right in the race,” MacGregor said.

“You could see when he was behind them, he was dying to get out and get going so I think it was the right thing to do as if he had of got held up it could have been a completely different result.

“He will have a few days off now as there is nothing left for him down here.

“He can go back home and we might look at another couple of runs, but he has done us proud and I can say without a word of a lie, there will be some celebrating tonight.”

Times Ticking has now made it back-to-back stakes victories and has ten wins from just 29 career starts, with prizemoney in excess of $316,000. – NZ Racing Desk

Advertisment
More Reading...
High-flying Pencarrow Stud offers well-bred mares in Online Breeding Stock Sale
The 2024-25 season has been one of the best ever for Pencarrow Stud, and some of the renowned bloodlines that have underpinned that success are now available for purchase in the 2025 National Online Breeding Stock Sale on Gavelhouse Plus.
Spring Potential for Darby Racing's Raging Force
Unplaced in the Group III ATC Breeders’ Plate last spring on debut, Raging Force came out of that race with an injury that required significant time on the sidelines, but since returning to full work his progress has been swift.
One to Watch – Ballarat
Synthetic track meetings at Ballarat can throw up some misleading form, but a debut winner from the Tony and Calvin McEvoy stable that started in the red and won by nine lengths is probably worth a closer look.
Third Winner for Peltzer
Twin Hills Stud’s young sire Peltzer added a third winner to his tally with a debut victory at Canberra on Friday for the well named gelding I Show Speed.
Times Ticking Wins G3 Trentham Stakes
Popular Opaki trainer Alby MacGregor was full of emotion as he welcomed his stable favourite Times Ticking back to the winners’ enclosure after a thrilling victory in the Gr.3 Mode Technology Trentham Stakes (2100m).
Breeding To Win – Crystal Ball – New Season 3YOs to Follow
Analysis of the G1 winning 3YO’s for this season has made us realise how many horses on this list took giant strides from two to three, so we are looking into the crystal ball to find some juveniles we believe could end next season as G1 performers if not G1 winners.
Invincible 2YO Colt wins for Bennett Racing
The $150,000 VRC Next Gen Sprinters Series Final (1200m) for two year-olds at Flemington on Saturday drew a competitive field of progressive juveniles and the colt that stood out on type in the yard was the one that got the cash with I Am Invincible colt Jimmy Recard proving too good for race favourite Bacash.
Juvenile Trial Watch – Rosehill
There were six heats for juveniles at Rosehill on Friday morning and the winners include unraced youngsters by Cool Aza Beel and I Am Invincible, plus a Farnan colt that tried his luck in Group races in the autumn and was far from disgraced.
Buccleuch - First Stakes-Winner for Peltzer
The $175,000 Listed VRC Taj Rossi Series Final (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday was won back in 2020 by Cherry Tortoni, who went to on to become a multiple Group winner of nearly $1million and the same colours were carried by this year’s winner Buccleuch.
Marble Nine Brings Up Second Stakes Winner For Aquis’ Kobayashi
The withdrawal of the top weight in Saturday’s $175,000 Listed MRC Santa Ana Lane Sprint Series Final (1200m) at Flemington saw the field down to just six, with Marble Nine continuing his outstanding recent form to secure his first black type victory.