Kingman sublime in Shepparton Gold Cup
The Luke McCarthy trained and driven Kingman was a superb front running winner of the Group 3 Shepparton Gold Cup on Saturday night, setting a new track record and once again claiming the scalp of champion pacer Leap To Fame.
The brilliant son of Always B Miki led off the gate and set a hot pace from the outset, and despite Leap To Fame getting a breather on his back for the last lap, Kingman simply proved too strong over the finishing stages, scoring by 2.9m.
Rating a 1:53.7 mile rate for the 2,690m, Kingman slashed 1.9 seconds off the track record for the distance.
It was also the third time in as many starts that Kingman has beaten Leap To Fame, with the 5-year-old having previously got the better of Leap To Fame in the Group 1 Victoria Cup and the Group 1 New Zealand Cup.
Kingman’s Shepparton Cup victory was his 16th win overall and took his earnings to $985,219.
Bred and raced by Mick Harvey, Kingman is out of the Dali mare Gotta Go Dali Queen.