Tact McLeod now heading to Bendigo Cup

By Adam Hamilton 

A couple of sweltering Melbourne days have delayed the start of exciting Kiwi pacer Tact McLeod’s Victorian campaign.

In the care of Anthony Butt and Sonya Smith, Tact McLeod was slated to open his assault in a free-for-all at Cranbourne on Saturday.

“We’re going to hold back and wait another week now,” Butt said.

“When he arrived down from Sydney, we had a couple of really hot days, so we decided just to take it easy on him.

“Cranbourne was never a definite, more a good starting point, if it suited at the time.”

Instead, Tact McLeod will go to the Group 2 Bendigo Cup on January 4.

“That’s the new starting point,” Butt said. “The Ballarat Cup is also a definite target on January 18. Now he’s missing Cranbourne, there’s a chance he could go to the Shepparton Cup (January 11) in between Bendigo and Ballarat as well, but we’ll play that by ear.”

Tact McLeod, who missed the recent Inter Dominion series with an untimely hoof abscess, will head to the Group 1 Hunter Cup (February 1) after Ballarat.

It is shaping as a potentially thin Hunter Cup with dual NZ Cup winner Swayzee almost certain to miss it and doubts still lingering over defending champion Leap To Fame.

“It doesn’t look as though those early races will have much depth to them,” Butt said. “Even the Hunter Cup if you take out Swayzee and maybe Leap To Fame it becomes a really attractive and winnable option.

“We haven’t had him here long, but he’s a lovely horse, very well mannered.

“He showed NZ Cup Week he can match it with the best and he’s still on the way up.

“It was good to see him come out and win so well at Menangle the other week, especially knowing Mark (Jones, trainer) felt he was a bit short of his top going into it.

“The gate speed he showed was exciting. As you know, gate speed is such a vital thing in Aussie racing.”

Butt already holds the record with seven Hunter Cup wins as a driver, but it’s 11 years since his last victory aboard Mah Sish.

“It’s always been a great race to me and I’m due for another one,” he laughed.