Cool Witness up for Albany Cup

Lightly raced staying prospect Cool Witness has earned a crack at this Sunday’s $100,000 Albany Cup after notching his second straight victory at Percy Spencer Racecourse last Thursday.

Cool Witness was a strong winner over 1900m in Albany on January 11 and trainer Terry Brennan elected to bring him back to the region last week, when he proved far too strong in the TabTouch — Better Your Bet Handicap (1900m).

Ridden by jockey Renee Forrest, Cool Witness landed in front from gate two and was able to lead throughout as he ground out a 3/4-length win at the finish over Sasso’s Circus.

The five-year-old has now won three of his 22 starts and stable foreman Mark Brennan said he would be among today’s nominations for the Albany Cup (2100m).

“It was a really good result, he just keeps on improving,” Brennan said.

“He is still young, well-bred and only just starting to come into his own.

“They all had their chance today and he deserves to have a crack at the cup on that effort.”

Leading trainer Adam Durrant had a successful trip to Albany last week, with three-year-old filly Genzebe saluting in the USG Boral Maiden (1600m).

Hoop Joseph Azzopardi put Genzebe into the race well before the home corner and she responded with a powerful finish to break through at just her third start, winning by 3/4 of a length.

Durrant said the filly by Lucas Cranach had plenty of staying potential going forward.

It is expected Durrant will play a big part in Sunday’s cup field and he could have multiple possible runners when initial entries are released this afternoon.

A regular visitor to the region on Albany Cup day, Durrant will chase a sixth cup triumph if he brings starters for the 2019 edition of the race.