Wootton Verni breaks Australian duck in the 2025 Coongy Cup

French-bred galloper Wootton Verni has claimed his first Australian victory with a determined performance in the Group 3 Coongy Cup at Caulfield.

Trained by Chris Waller, the imported gelding arrived from France late last year and broke through at his sixth local start, showing his class over the 2000-metre trip. After beginning his campaign in Sydney, Wootton Verni was transferred to Waller’s Melbourne base, where he has continued to improve with racing.

Coming off a solid fourth-place finish at Sandown over 1800m on September 27, the $3.80 favourite took full advantage of the step up in distance, fighting hard under jockey Damian Lane to defeat Casino Seventeen ($31) by a long neck, with Future History ($13) finishing a few lengths behind in third.

Stable representative Lizzie Collett said it was pleasing to see the gelding finally deliver on his potential, despite being a challenging horse to handle.

“He got a good clear run and was able to use his ability, but in the first 400 metres, I was saying relax,” Collett said.

“Luckily, he had enough fuel left at the end, so it shows he’s a quality horse.”

Having worn blinkers at his previous start, the team opted for winkers this time to encourage a more composed display. Although still keen through the early stages, Lane said Wootton Verni is trending in the right direction.

“His form before he came to Australia was very good, but it’s taken a little bit for him to put it together here, but he’s building the right way,” Lane said.

“I think he needed a confidence win and hopefully that was it for him.

“I was in the right spot, but he didn’t really switch off for me. I think the winkers switched him on, but with a few more goes in them, he might relax a bit better further on.

“I think they bought him for bigger targets than this race and he’s building in the right way.”

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