By MATT NICHOLLS
A TEXTBOOK ride by Grafton jockey Matthew Paget made all the difference as Dusty’s Felt scored in the $35,000 Armidale Cup (1900m) on Monday.
In the Armidale CUp Prelude (1900m) two weeks earlier, Paget opted to lead on the veteran gelding, only to beaten in the last stride.
This time, the hoop decided to take a sit after finding the front early, positioning himself behind Brave Ali, the race favourite.
As Brave Ali was put under pressure in the straight, Paget hugged the rail aboard Dusty’s Felt ($6) and zoomed away to win by a length from Dollar Dan ($17) and Full Blast ($4.40).
Armidale-owned galloper Brave Ali ($4), tired and finished fifth, while the Stafford Wain-trained galloper Latitat ($15) was eighth in the 11-horse field.
In the other feature race on the card, Tableaux took advantage of a trademark Robert Thompson ride to win the $20,000 Newmarket Handicap (1100m).
Thompson weaved through traffic on the Todd Howlett-trained gelding to win by a length from $2.40 favourite Hot Rythm and Grand Feeling.
The victory on Tableaux brought up a winning treble for Thompson, who combined with Howlett to win the Servies Class 3 Handicap (1900m) aboard The Rundown ($2.20) as well as the 2YO Thunderbolt Handicap (1100m) on $2.10 favourite Unknown Destiny.
