Perth Cup: From bush horse to a genuine chance, Stafford’s Lad takes group of mates on ride of a lifetime

When a group of long-time mates decided to invest their punter’s club winnings in a six-year-old stayer that had only won five races, expectations weren’t high. In fact, they were told their new acquisition was just a bush horse and the Broome Cup would be the pinnacle. Less than five months after having to settle for third in the Broome Cup, the big syndicate of owners have a genuine Perth Cup chance on their hands in Stafford’s Lad. Richard Bennett, whose son Jack is a close mate of Luke Morton, the son of trainer Dan, came up with the idea after the pandemic put paid to the punter’s club’s regular trips. Bennett and his mates have been playing touch rugby for their team, the Magic Maulers, for several decades. “The touch rugby team has been going for about 40 years,” part-owner Kim Chatfield said. “About three years ago, we decided we needed to start a punter’s club. “We bet every week and we bank. Before COVID we used to go to on trips to Bali and we always had something going on, but COVID’s stopped that now. “All of a sudden Richard came to us and said ‘I’ve got a proposition boys, we’re looking at taking a horse to Broome, would you be interested in 20 per cent?’. “We all said ‘oh how much is that going to cost us?’. It was $2000 and that was about it.” Former handicapper BJ Ryan identified Stafford’s Lad as a Broome Cup prospect for Dan Morton, who bought the son of Demerit from trainer Ian Shield. Luke took the reins from his father to train Stafford’s Lad and Dan’s other Broome gallopers this year. “I met Richard six years ago and we got talking about horses and he said that day he’d be interested in racing horses in Broome,” Luke said. “Last year I saw him in Carnarvon at the servo and he said ‘I’m dead serious about it, let’s get it done’.” At his sixth start on the picturesque dirt track next to Cable Beach, Stafford’s Lad won his first race for his new owners with a dominant performance in the Kimberley Cup. Two weeks later, he ran third to Staaden in the Broome Cup. “Having a horse race in Broome was a great excuse for us to travel up,” part-owner Brendan Cocks said. “We only expected to go to Broome, but then the horse went on to Kalgoorlie.” Stafford’s Lad ran a solid fifth in the Boulder Cup before his impressive second to Living The Dream in the Kalgoorlie Cup. He showed his toughness when thriving after a quick freshen-up, prompting the Morton stable to test him during the Ascot carnival. And after eye-catching runs in three Listed races, Stafford’s Lad burst into Perth Cup contention with a barnstorming victory in the ATA Stakes last week. Wild celebrations from the big group of owners stood out on the quiet Wednesday meeting at Ascot. “The guys who own it, we’ve all been mates for our whole lives,” Bennett told The Races WA after the win. “To buy a horse that we took up to Broome, to be able to run through the Broome carnival, just get better in Kalgoorlie and now be a chance in the Perth Cup, it’s what dreams are made of.” Chatfield compared the excitement of the win to what he experienced 40 years ago when he made his WAFL league debut for East Fremantle. Now the owners are dreaming of a famous victory in arguably WA’s most iconic race on Saturday, with Stafford’s Lad rated a $6.50 chance with Ladbrokes. “He’s the fairytale story and I think plenty of people will be backing him,” Chatfield said. “One thing’s for sure, he won’t have a problem with the distance.” Dan Morton has high hopes Stafford’s Lad can deliver him his first Perth Cup triumph. “He’s a very tough horse and a proper stayer,” Morton said. “From barrier one he’s just got to get off the rail at some stage, but it’s the shortest way home.”

Perth Cup: From bush horse to a genuine chance, Stafford’s Lad takes group of mates on ride of a lifetime

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