Cobram Harness Racing Club Secretary Manager and hobby trainer Adam Rudd enjoyed a day to remember on Sunday, overseeing a successful Cup meeting while also celebrating a career highlight behind the scenes as his own trotter Bennie And The Jets claimed the Central Murray Bank Cobram Trotters Cup.
“It was fantastic being our home Cup,” Rudd said about the win.
Balancing his dual roles made the achievement even more rewarding, with Rudd heavily involved throughout the day before watching his horse deliver on the track.
“I’m secretary manager at Cobram, so I had a lot going on on the day,” Rudd said about the busy day for him.
“For him to come out and perform like he did was very rewarding.”
Relatively new to training, Rudd has only been preparing horses for around a year, with the Cobram Cup victory marking the eighth win of his career.
“I’m obviously a hobby trainer and I’m doing it for fun. It’s taken me a long time to get him right, but I’ve got him pretty right at the moment, which is great. He’s putting in and trying, so I’m very happy with the horse.”
“I’ve only been training for a bit over 12 months, so yes, that would be my best winner so far. Hopefully there’s more to come.”
Driven by Leigh Sutton, Bennie And The Jets made full use of barrier one from the stand start, stepping cleanly before leading throughout the 2678-metre journey and finishing strongly to defeat El Conqueror and Rapid Return.
“He’s always shown a lot of ability. He’s just taken a bit of sorting out, but he’s a happy horse at the moment and I’m very happy with the way he went on the weekend,” Rudd praised.
“This whole prep has been very good.”
Plans are already taking shape for the gelding’s next assignment, with a step up in grade on the horizon.
“I think we’ll head to the Bendigo Cup,” Rudd said of the trotting feature on the first night of Victoria’s Summer Of Glory on Saturday January 10.
“He’s a very good stand-start horse and he stays. We should draw favourably there because we’re lowly rated, and we’ll just hope to get a suitable run, whether we lead or take a sit. I don’t mind either way with him, because I think he’s just as good a horse from behind.”
Rudd was also quick to acknowledge the support he receives at home.
“Linton Power has been helping with the horse and because I run my own business, I wouldn’t be able to do it without his help.”
The Cobram Cup meeting also featured a dominant performance from Alex Ashwood’s Merrywood Paul, who led throughout to score a decisive 12.1-metre victory in the Jim Phillips Memorial Cobram Pacing Cup.
It was standout day for Merrywood Paul’s owner Tayla French, who also capped off the meeting by driving the final winner, Lorimermajor, in the Cobram Hotel Regional Pace Final for trainer Terry French.
