KEY POINTS:
BRISBANE - Lisa Cropp thought she'd won it. Trainer Guy Lowry still reckons it's a deadheat.
But the connections of Hawkes Bay mare Lilakyn had to settle for second placing to the Newcastle-trained Newport by an agonising nose in the group two A$300,000 ($335,000) Brisbane Cup (2400m) at Eagle Farm yesterday.
Lowry was still shaking his head 20 minutes after the race when the result was finally confirmed after demanding to see an enlarged copy of the photo finish.
To the naked eye it seemed the first two horses, finishing wide apart, had deadheated.
Lowry's pleas were turned down by stewards who said the judge had seen a clearer print of the finish. It was the difference between the A$192,000 first prize and A$60,000 for second for her owner, Hawkes Bay businessman Sam Kelt.
Even legendary trainer Bart Cummings, who saddled the unplaced Accumulate, chimed in as they viewed the photo in the weighing room.
"I reckon they should give you half the prizemoney," he told Lowry with a grin.
New Zealand's leading jockey Cropp brought Lilakyn down the outside with a barnstorming late run and raised her right arm in a victory salute just before she crossed the line.
"It's a funny angle here. That's two noses I've been beaten at this carnival," Cropp said, referring to her defeat on the Donna Logan-trained Jazzella last month.
"She got to the front probably two strides off the post. Fantastic run."
Lowry didn't see Cropp's victory salute from his vantage point in the grandstand. It was her first ride on Lilakyn.
"Did it cost her?" he asked.
"It looked bloody close to me. I was hoping."
Still, it was an impressive training performance by Lowry. It was Lilakyn's first start in Brisbane and first start right-handed. Her final leadup run was a fourth placing in the Rotorua Cup on May 12.
The royally bred daughter of Danehill and New Zealand Derby winner Popsy is now unbeaten at two starts at 2400m.
There were several hard-luck stories for the seven New Zealand runners.
Sculptor, trained by Peter McKenzie, missed the jump by 15 lengths but stewards refused to declare him a late scratching. He still beat six runners home.
The favourite, Mandela, loomed up on the home turn after having a good run before fading to finish ninth. Trainer Richard Yuill said there were no excuses.
Mirkola Lass finished strongly for fourth, behind Ice Chariot, while topweight Pentathon, under 58kg, was checked in a skirmish near the winning post on the first round and ran home strongly for sixth on the shifty track.
* A repeat win in the listed Tattersall's Mile in two weeks is the target for Atapi after he claimed the solitary New Zealand win of the Eagle Farm holiday weekend meeting.
Ridden by Damien Oliver, Atapi came with a well-timed run to win the listed A$75,000 Phil Sullivan Handicap (1600m) and hold off Legendary Man and another New Zealander Lord Monty, trained by Peter McKenzie.
It was Atapi's third win from six starts at Eagle Farm, the others being the Queensland Guineas and Tattersall's Mile as a 3-year-old in 2005.
* Four-time Golden Slipper winning trainer Clarry Conners claimed another juvenile feature race win at Eagle Farm when Apercu won the group one A$500,000 TJ Smith.
Ridden by champion jockey Darren Beadman, Apercu settled fourth and ranged up to claim the leaders in the straight before staving off the late charge of runner-up Tripitz to win in a photo finish. Masked Assassin fought on gamely to finish third.
- NZPA
