Improving Tigerpie out to break drought in Sokyola Sprint

Rackemup Tigerpie appeared to have the world at his feet at the end of his four-year-old season.

He won eight times, establishing himself as one of the best of his age in Australia as he contested the likes of the Chariots of Fire.

The son of Rock N Roll Heaven also took on free-for-all company, running a career-best 1:52.1 in winning the Ballarat Lightning Sprint.

It would be his run in 2019 Ballarat Pacing Cup though, when second to New Zealand star Thefixer after racing outside the leader for 2000m, that was the stand-out performance.

Although that came relatively early in the season, the run remained as his benchmark.

So at the end of his four-year-old campaign if anyone had suggested to his trainer Michael Stanley that Rackemup Tigerpie would not win another race for at least two years, the idea would have been instantly dismissed.

However, as Stanley prepares Rackemup Tigerpie for the $24,000 Sokyola Sprint (1710m) at Ballarat’s Boxing Day meeting on Sunday evening, that is exactly the scenario for the gelding.

He has not won since saluting in a Vicbred Super Series semi-final for four-year-olds at Melton on June 29, 2019.

To say it has been a frustrating time for Stanley and his father Ian, who bred and owns Rackemup Tigerpie, would be an understatement.

But after a last-start third to Tangoingwithsierra at Melton, there might finally be light at the end of the tunnel for the Stanleys.

Reflecting on the journey of the past two seasons with Rackemup Tigerpie, the Burrumbeet-based Michael Stanley said there has been no end of problems.

“He always worked well at home and ate reasonably well, but he went off the boil at the races.

“He just wasn’t putting in at the races for a good 12 months.

“We just thought that a few hard runs he’d had as a four-year-old might have got the better of him, and he’d got tired.”

Stanley said in an effort to get to the bottom of whatever was happening, his father took Rackemup Tigerpie to the vet

“We discovered he had really bad ulcers in his stomach,” he said.

He said a scope diagnosed the ulcers, with the vet saying they were as bad as he’d seen.

All this came at the end of 2020.

It was going to take time, so Ian Stanley took him home to recuperate.

With the treatment complete, Ian took on the training duties of Rackemup Tigerpie as he had for the first 22 starts of his career.

He gave him five outings after a lengthy spell and then after another break, the rising seven-year-old resumed in early November.

His last start at Melton was his first since returning to the care of Michael.

He said leading into the run, Rackemup Tigerpie had been working almost as well as when he produced his standout Ballarat Pacing Cup run.

“He really started to show that spark again,” he said.

Stanley said he and his father were not necessarily expecting to recapture that same sort of form from almost three years ago, but were confident of winning races again.

Although he is not sure whether that win will come in the Sokyola Sprint, Stanley is upbeat about the assignment.

Rackemup Tigerpie has an outstanding record at Bray Raceway with five wins in 10 starts, including the 2018 Ballarat Lightning Sprint – the predecessor to the Sokyola Sprint at the post-Christmas meeting.

“I’m going to drive him positively. I think he’ll be improved on his latest run two weeks ago because he had a really good blow after it,” he said.

“Whether he’s going good enough yet to beat the likes of Copy That and Torrid Saint, maybe not, but we’re going to try. I don’t think he’s far away.

“You never know. You have to be in it to win it.”

New Zealand Cup winner Copy That will start a short-priced favourite in the 12-strong field.

He is backing up after a disappointing last in the Cranbourne Pacing Cup - the first start of his Australian campaign.

The four-year-old has been cleared medically after the failure and trainer Ray Green is keen to get him back on track.

Copy That is one of five runners coming off runs in the Cranbourne feature, with the Julie Douglas pair of Rick Reilly and Torrid Saint joining Jilliby Bandit and Bettor Be The Bomb.

Rick Reilly continued his great country cups form with a third at Cranbourne, while Torrid Saint was fourth.

The Storm Inside holds the Ballarat 1710m track record of 1:50.7, set two years ago.

The seven-race Ballarat program also features a strong line-up in the John Valves Trotters Free For All despite the early scratching of emerging mare Hopeful Beauty.

Andy Gath-trained McLovin is the early favourite ahead of Alison Alford stablemates Sleepee and Wobelee, and Aldebaran Tess from the Matthew Craven team.