Casino Cup Fits Nicely For Russell

THE Darren Russell-trained Fab Fit claimed a gripping Charcoal Inn Casino Cup Final (484m) on Friday evening, denying runner-up Terra Torra back-to-back wins in the Group 3 feature by just a neck margin at the finish.

Heading into the $25,000 to-the-winner feature off a three-quarter length second to Loch Freddie in the heats, Fab Fitting (Fabregas x Befitting) showed her trademark early pace to lead up Friday's Cup field, before staving off the late challenge of a fast finishing Terra Torra to score narrowly in a sizzling 27.59.

Finishing third was the Andrew Monaghan-trained Soltador, the grand local galloper running the race of her life to be beaten less than a length in the group 3 event.

Fab Fit's Casino Cup triumph continued the sensational run being enjoyed by her trainer Darren Russell, having landed a winning double at Albion Park the night earlier with Yeah Okay and Precious Sal, the latter victorious in the last race of the program – the last called by now-retired racecaller Paul ‘Dogsy' Dolan.

Boasting a record of 14 wins and 13 placings from the 42 career starts and prizemoney of just on $60,000, Fab Fit's Casino Cup success was the 100^th victory registered by the Fabregas x Befitting litter, the May 2015 whelps – eight in total – raking in prizemoney of $275,000.

The litter includes Snug, a luckless sixth in Friday's Casino Cup Final for Russell, after finishing third in the 2017 final.