Local boy Matt Jenkins etched his name into Tatura Cup folklore on Saturday afternoon, claiming the race for a third straight year courtesy of a clinical run by returning champion Turbeau.
Jenkins, who serves as an assistant trainer to David Brideoake, first conquered the $50,000 feature race with gelding Midships in 2020 before backing it up with Turbeau in 2021.
Making the decision to bring the six-year-old gelding back to Tatura to defend his crown, the Brideoake trained runner jumped a firm $2.90 favourite and showed his class down the back straight to clinch a two-length victory.
Jenkins said it was a “massive thrill” watching Turbeau cross the line and clinch the trainer’s third straight Tatura Cup crown.
“It was a massive thrill to see him cross the line first. It (the Tatura Cup) is a race we set out to win every year, and we’ve been lucky enough to do that for the past three years,” Jenkins said.
“This race had been well and truly on our radar for the past eight to 10 weeks as we tried to work out what horse would be best suited of the 40-plus we have in work at the moment.
“Turbeau looked the most fitting again after winning it last year, and it is a big thrill to have now won it three years in a row.”
From the outside looking in, expectations were high for Turbeau leading into the race given his pedigree as a previous Tatura Cup winner.
But Jenkins admitted the lead-in to the race was not perfect and he was not sure how the six-year-old would fare in defending his title.
“He ran really well first-up at Flemington but part of us thought he might have just been a run short of his best fitness-wise leading into the Tatura Cup,” he said.
“He’d only had one run over 1100m this preparation, so confidence would have been a lot higher had he had been third-up instead of second-up.
“The race probably fell away a bit in terms of strength and that is why he was probably so short in the market. Even at 80 per cent he had the class on the field and that’s what ended up prevailing.”
Jumping fairly from barrier three, Turbeau was able to settle comfortably in the middle of the field, perched ominously behind the leaders.
Situated perfectly at the top of the straight, jockey Beau Mertens then released the shackles in the final 300m as he dashed to the outside and strode past his competitors to claim victory.
“The run couldn’t have unfolded any better,” Jenkins said.
“We set up a plan and Beau executed it really well. Having concerns about fitness, we wanted to give him the softest run possible to be able to be strong late, and with how quick the leaders went up front he ended up in a great spot to finish the race strong.
“Compared to last year, it was pretty similar. There was probably a little bit more merit in this win due to the fact we believed he was only about 75 per cent fit, so to grind out the win, it puts him good stead for the rest of this preparation.”
With the dust now settled on another successful Tatura Cup outing, the question now is can the local hero make it four on the trot in 2023?
“I have always really set out to win it (the Tatura Cup) because I am a Tat boy and I’ve got a lot of close family and friends there and it is the course I first learnt to ride,” Jenkins said.
“So when we won the first year that was great, the second was even better and now to have done it three years in a row, it is very special to me.
“I’m well and truly content with the three. If it works out and I can have a crack at a fourth that would be great, but for now I am happy with the three.”