Another stop on the country cups circuit has resulted in back-to-back victories for Liam Howley and delivered more silverware for the Goulburn Valley-based ownership group.
Station One ($5.50) claimed the postponed Traralgon Cup ($70,000) on Sunday by leading the whole way in a brave and stirring performance that follows on from his recent Dunkeld Cup triumph.
It was a tough-as-nails run by the son of Toronado in the 1900m country cup.
The talented five-year-old gelding found the early lead, his usual race pattern, from the inside draw before jockey Alana Kelly allowed him to relax down the back of the track.
It wasn’t until Station One was eye-balled by Samedi at the 600m that heart rates of owners and Howley went up a notch.
But just as heart rates rose, so did the emerging stayer.
Station One managed to dig deep ― and find another level ― as he fought off the challenge of third-placed Samedi and outstayed his rivals to chalk up a memorable win by almost two lengths.
“I’m just stoked really, he showed that he’s gone to a new level this time around,” Howley said of his stable star.
“We knew he was in a good spot and he showed that fight once again. He surprised me a little bit with how professionally he went about it.
‘We wanted to test them early, once he got to the 1000m he was in cruise mode really and when they came at him, he put them away pretty easy.
“That was a lot better race than the Dunkeld Cup which is a good sign.
“I’m just rapt for everyone involved; it’s such a great ownership group with such great people ... it’s only 70,000 prizemoney, but the silverware counts for a lot more than that.
“A great result, a good tough win and a win for a good bunch of owners which is always nice.”
Howley praised the steer from Kelly and labelled it a “10 out of 10” ride.
However, Kelly would not have grabbed back-to-back wins on Station One if it wasn’t for the postponement of Sunday’s race from its original date on December 3.
“(Alana has) got a really good affinity with him,” Howley said.
“We were lucky that the race was postponed the other week because Alana was unavailable for the ride on that day. But that’s two 10 out of 10 rides that’s for sure.”
The win at Traralgon has opened up a dilemma for Howley.
Where to next plot Station One’s next quest for a sixth career win?
Howley is spoilt for choice when it comes to the destination for Station One.
There’s a metropolitan race at The Valley in less than a fortnight, while a handful of country cups are springing up early in the new year.
The country cups circuit is an enticing carrot to chase, with the second instalment of the Victorian Country Cups Series already off and running.
Station One already has the outright lead in the series following Sunday’s win and sits on eight points.
“He’s probably knocking on the door now for a metro run,” Howley said.
“He’ll have a week off, which is his usual race prep, there’s a 2500m race at Moonee Valley on December 23 we could head to or have a little bit longer off and look to a couple more country cups at Great Western or Hanging Rock.
“There’s also the Country Cups title next year to look at ... he’s racing so well, could be heading metro soon.”