She was conspicuous in her absence when The Ruffian cast his spell on the Darwin Cup Carnival, and trainer Sheila Arnold was content to celebrate high in her grandstand seat when Sense Of Sun won the $125,000 Darwin Airport Resort Palmerston Sprint.
Will the former Alice Springs identity - now based in Geelong - face the spotlight should The Ruffian win the Darwin Cup tomorrow?
A win in the Cup is not out of the question because The Ruffian, who has bagged the Guineas and Derby in a Top End blitzkrieg, is favourite.
Arnold was overseas, reportedly in England, when The Ruffian won the Guineas and wasn't present at Fannie Bay when the three-year-old gelding won the Derby. A solid performer in Melbourne, Sense Of Sun ($4.60) deservedly started the Palmerston as third favourite behind last year's winner Lucid Reflection ($3.10) and Canali ($3.80), after finishing a respectable third behind the same two horses in the Darwin City Council WFA (1200m) on July 16.
Allowing Canali (Scott Hillebrand) and roughie Kisrak (Carl Spry) to assume the lead, Paul Denton had Sense Of Sun ideally positioned in third place before issuing a challenge as the field made the final turn.
Stephen Brown-trained Canali, who was backed for $20,000 at $4.60 with Sportingbet to win the race on Friday, led into the straight and looked the winner with 250m to go, before Sense Of Sun made his move.
The Victorian galloper who, along with The Ruffian, was marked for the Darwin Cup Carnival six months ago, gobbled up the lead half way down the home straight before eventually beating Cabali's stablemate, fast-finishing Far Horizons (Steve Baster), who won the Palmerston in 2009 for Nev Connor. Canali lasted for third ahead of the much-improved Sound Of Nature (Libby Hopwood).
Sheila Arnold deserves all the accolades but for jockey Paul Denton, it was his sixth Palmerston win since 1983.
"We had a beautiful run and after trailing Kisrak I decided I would follow Canali," Denton said. "I knew Canali or Lucid Reflection would lead, but I thought we were a big chance once I got a split in the home straight."
The Dick Leech-trained Lucid Refection, who had mesmerised his opponents in all the sprinting events leading up to the Palmerston, never recovered after missing the start and finished ninth.
Story courtesy of David White, NT News
