No excuses after upset group three win

Timy Tyler caused a boilover at Riccarton on Saturday to credit WS stallion No Excuse Needed with a Group Three success. The five-year-old defied the betting market to claim major honours in the Winter Cup.

Despite boasting a handy form line, the gelding was allowed to start at odds of 46-1. “This is a huge thrill for me, the biggest day of my life,” owner-trainer Kelvin Tyler said. “The horse has been going really well and he’s been working toward this for the last three months.

“He won nicely here in the Amberley Cup and he races best when he’s a bit fresh. He’s been up a while and I had planned to put him out, but I’ll see how he comes through the race and he might run again on the last day.”

Sharing in the cup glory was 17-year-old apprentice Jacob Lowry, who had earlier won the open sprint on the Kevin Myers-trained Scapolo. “It was pretty hard to top Scapolo, but I had a lot of faith in this horse and I knew he was spot on,” he said. “I was confident a long way out. He’s still got a lot of improvement in him so watch this space.”

Timy Tyler is out of the Pins mare Skite and the family of the Group One winners Veloso (Mackinnon Stakes), Westminster (Railway Handicap, Ampol Stakes), Domino (NZ Oaks, AJC Oaks) , Hero (NZ 2000 Guineas), Sale Of Century (Rosehill Guineas) and Linky Dink (TJ Smith Classic).