They ran and they ran and they ran, and Tiger Tara was simply better than them.

Tonight’s A.G. Hunter Cup in a nutshell, as the Kevin Pizzuto-trained wonder horse from New South Wales added Victoria’s most prestigious Grand Circuit trophy to his cabinet at Tabcorp Park Melton.

The eight-year-old stallion already boasts the silverware from last year’s Victoria Cup and December’s Inter Dominion Grand Final.

And he didn’t just win those races either, he blitzed his opposition. All up, his accumulated winning margin for the three classics is 41.1m.

“He’s an amazing animal and he deserves everything this horse,” Pizzuto said.

“They said the horse wasn’t at his best tonight … but I told them he was. And he was.”

Tiger Tara started $1.90 favourite and won by a whopping 14.5 metres in a new track record mile rate of 1:53.2, smashing his own previous mark by 0.7secs.

“He’s an absolute pleasure to be a part of,” winning reinsman 25-year-old Todd McCarthy said.

“All credit to the horse and Kevin, who does such a great job with this horse.”

Our Uncle Sam finished second, making it the same quinella as the ID18 final, while San Carlo ran on hard for third ahead of warhorse veteran Flaming Flutter and the fast-finishing Buster Brady.

 

Photos: Ashlea Brennan Photography