WOW! What can we say? 
It’s the most enormous thrill to win our hometown Scone Race Club Cup and what an absolute honour it is to train a horse like COMMANDO HUNT! 
His preparation has been quite the story.
Originally set to try and better his 2nd in the 2022 Country Championships Final he failed to make it to Randwick for this year’s edition, despite running well in the Tamworth Qualifer and Scone Wildcard.
Geared to peak on the day of the Final, but with no race to run in, he was sent instead to the 1500m Muswellbrook Cup the day before as an outsider and powered past them all, leaving us wondering what may have been had he been in the race in Sydney.
Next up and back to 1400m, he was game to run 3rd from a wide run in the Tamworth Cup and then onto today’s Listed race where he looked the winner a very long way from home at his first time ever over 1600m.
Jockey Jeff Penza was magnificent, helping him find cover, one off the fence, after breaking so well from the machines from a wide starting alley. They hit the front with a furlong to go and showed all the necessary grit and determination to hold on as the late challengers dived through to the inside. 
Commando’s last three runs have defied all expectations and the manner in which he is racing is auguring very well for his shot at the $2,000,000 Big Dance at Randwick in November- for which he is now eligible twice! 
He’s now a black-type winner with earnings in the vicinity of half-a-million dollars and firmly installed as the pride of our Country stable. 
This win was a special result for Cameron as well, having watched his father Max train two winners in the race as he was growing up- making this a bucket-list race he never dreamed he would tick off. 
Congratulations and thank you to everyone involved from his owners and faithful stable supporters Max Whitby, Des Kennedy and Brian Rutter- to our hardworking staff at home who are integral in helping to prepare every winner big, or small. 
This is the stuff racing is all about!
