Gawler Cup Preview: Bain Is Bullish On Hometown Cup

Aaron Bain is not shy is expressing his desire to win a Gawler Cup.

Bain who trains in partnership with Ned Taylor are South Australian racing’s rapidly rising stable and have Midnight Mass chasing a home town victory on Friday afternoon.

“It would be very special for us,’’ Bain said on the Front Runner Podcast.

“Born and raised in Gawler, the family is in Gawler and the story started here.

“It is certainly a race we want to win in our early days while we’re growing the stable and the brand,’’ he said.

Midnight Mass comes off a nice return when he made good ground behind Fancify first-up at Murray Bridge and Bain said the Cup had been their aim.

“He’s second-up and this is his target race,’’ Bain said.

“He’s drawn a little bit wide, but all the speed is out wide with the likes of Sir Kingsford and Longer Route.

“We’ll be very positive out of the gate and come across with them, we’ve got to get forward and his first-up run was great.

“The Gawler Cup was always his second-up run where he loves it at 1500m, it’s going to take a good horse to win the Cup, but we think we’ve got as good a chance as any in the race,’’ he said.

Bain said the stable were starting to see the results from the move to Angaston producing a double at Morphettville on the Parks recently with horses who started their preparations at the new base.

“It’s been a pinch yourself moment training from Angaston Park,’’ Bain said.

“The team are starting to hit the races now, the ones who have worked up there from the initial days and we’re seeing the fruits of that start to bare.

“It’s starting to tick along now,’’ he said.

The Bain/Taylor combination aren’t the only locals chasing Gawler Cup success on Friday afternoon.

Gary Searle is chasing a third home town Cup win after Lady Silhouette claimed consecutive Cup wins in 2017 and 2018, a first Cup in official partnership with wife Nicole and daughter Brianna, with Sir Kingsford.

The bold front runner comes in fresh on the back of a solid Balaklava Cup run and will jump from a wide barrier with Todd Pannell replacing Teagan Voorham in the saddle who will be sidelined for three to four weeks following a fall earlier in the week.