Luca Neveelk Wins 2014 Geelong Gold Cup
Luca Neveelk added a much deserved Group Two victory to his remarkable record when he took out the 2014 Geelong Gold Cup final for Denison trainer Gerald Kleeven on Friday night.
The son of Talk’s Cheap and It’s A Neveelk (Nitro Neveelk – Bigbad Leesa) has now won 21 races from just 25 starts with the Geelong win being his first black type final victory.
The 36kg hulking blue dog was sent out a $3.30 second-favourite and exited box five in second place before quickly out-speeding the early leader Top Secret (1) and racing away.
From that point he was never headed staving off the gallant efforts of Top Secret to score by 1 3/4 lengths in a handy 25.41. Nockabout Aussie (8) overcame early trouble to flash home along the rails and claim third.
Of the beaten brigade, favourite Awesome Project (6) left the boxes slowly and found dead ends everywhere he went, eventually finishing sixth. Dyna Alchemist (4) was away midfield and found the task of reeling in the front runners too much, finishing fourth.
Swagzilla (7) did not begin too well but made his way to third mid race before finishing fifth. Hallelujah Henry missed the hop and was another who was caught up in the field for a long period of time which sealed his fate, finishing seventh. Dyna Villa (2) was third away but struck early trouble and dropped back sharply to finish last.
Luca Neveelk has now amassed $112, 865 in stakes earnings. Given his phenomenal strike rate, coupled with the fact that he is only 29-months-old, there is every chance that he will add to that significantly in the coming year.
2014 SITA Group Two Geelong Cup – Full Results
1st – Luca Neveelk (5) Gerald Kleeven
2nd – Top Secret (1) – Kelly Bravo
3rd – Nockabout Aussie (8) – Peter Akathiotis
4th – Dyna Alchemist (4) – Steven Collins
5th – Swagzilla (7) – Darren McDonald
6th – Awesome Project (6) – Darren McDonald
7th – Hallelujah Henry (3) – Darren McDonald
8th – Dyna Villa (2) – Jenny Hunt
Time: 25.41
1st Split: 6.42 (5)
2nd Split: 11.05
Margins: 1 1/4 x 1
Scratchings: Azza Azza Azza (9), Marcus Joe (10)