Allendale East trainer David Peckham found himself with the first Mount Gambier Cup finalist at Tara Raceway last Sunday when Tippa, after opening up a handy break down the back, hung on in a desperate finish to defeat Saint Mac by a head.
The winning time of 30.31 seconds – the same time recorded by Awesome Value when winning the first heat of the Produce Store Feature Maiden – had Peckham conceding that there hadn’t been too much to get excited about. Even less when Tippa drew box five in the final.
“He’d been under a bit of a cloud since he ran in the Murray Bridge Cup last month so he should now strip fitter in Sunday’s final. Hopefully he can give last year’s cup-winning owners Tim Aloisi and Matt Lehman something to cheer about at some stage of the race,” Peckham said.
“His best time at the track is 29.95 seconds so he’s certainly capable of running quicker than the time he recorded in his heat. However, with the other five heat winners all well under 30 seconds he’ll need to.
“For all that, though, this is my home town cup and I’m certainly more than happy to be in it.”
Peckham has never won the Mount Gambier Cup although since TAB racing commenced at Tara Raceway in 2012 he has had his share of finalists.
In 2012 Man Of Mystery reached the final, then in 2013 Baurna Paddy and Pure Ruler, followed by Striking Viking (2014), Bourne Again (2015), Thanks Captain (2017) and last year with Dyna Carnie.