Plenty of Fire in the belly as Sutton chases Cup redemption

Leigh Sutton still feels a sense of regret following last year’s Moama Bowling Club Echuca Pacing Cup, but is ready to take the chance at redemption this Friday night.

The talented reinsman was at the controls when Like A Wildfire finished a narrow second in a brutally-run feature 12 months ago and can’t help but think he’d have won with a slightly different trip in the final lap.

Sutton believes he would have triumphed had he dropped in behind leader Sicario when the spot presented down the back straight, a position which was snapped up by eventual winner Malcolms Rhythm.

“Last year I drove him really bad. I should have won the race. I should have went to the leader’s back down the back…,” Sutton told Trots Talk.

“But I let Malcolms Rhythm do it and he got me on the line.

“If I can give him a better trip this year, he’s going better so he’s the one to beat that’s for sure.”

The Emma Stewart-trained gelding had his first taste of Group 1 competition during a recent trip to Sydney, running third in the Schweppes Sprint and fourth in the Ainsworth Free For All at Menangle through late February and early March.

He’s now back home in Victoria and ready to tackle Friday’s $35,000 Group 3 over the staying trip of 2560m.

Sutton, who won the 2021 Charlton Pacing Cup and 2022 Terang Pacing Cup aboard Like A Wildfire, believes the horse is capable of claiming an elite-level race at some point in his career.

“I think so – it’s a matter of just finding the right one,” Sutton said.

“He raced awesome in Sydney and that was probably his first go against the big boys, wasn’t it?

“There’s a good race in him. I’d like to be coiled up three fence in a Hunter Cup over 2500m and that would really suit him.”

There’s no Malcolms Rhythm to contend with this time around, but Like A Wildfire will still need to be at his best to overcome Stewart-trained stablemates Demon Delight and Phoenix Prince, who ran the exacta in last weekend’s Charlton Pacing Cup. The Echuca showdown is a battle between two stables, with the other three runners in the field hailing from the Julie Douglas barn. They are Shortys Mate, Khaki Nui and Major Roll.

The $20,000 Group 3 Arch Electrical Group Echuca Trotters Cup has drawn a quality field of rivals and looks an even contest from the standing start, while the Tiffany Murray Memorial Pace is among the other features on the card.

The race, which is run in honour of Sutton’s former partner and mother to his daughter, is for female drivers only.

Nikkita Ross, Steve Cleave and Monique Burnett will join caller Lachlan McIntosh for the extended, wall-to-wall TrotsVision coverage on Friday night, with the first race set to go at 6.33pm.