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Trainer Rob Gulberti eyes third Darwin Cup with former Kalgoorlie Cup winner Living The Dream

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Jay RooneyThe West Australian
Living The Dream wins the Metric Mile in Darwin for jockey Brad Rawiller.
Camera IconLiving The Dream wins the Metric Mile in Darwin for jockey Brad Rawiller. Credit: Greg Irvine/Magic Millions/Magic Millions

WA trainer Rob Gulberti is confident Living The Dream can match his former stablemate Ihtsahymn and deliver the stable a third victory in the $200,000 Darwin Cup (2050m) on Monday.

Gulberti followed the same path that led to Ihtsahymn’s success in 2019 and 2020, using the Metric Mile (1600m) on Darwin’s dirt track as the key lead-up run into the cup.

In his first start for the new stable, Living The Dream burst into cup favouritism when winning the Metric Mile by more than two lengths for WA-based jockey Brad Rawiller.

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Gulberti identified Living The Dream as a Darwin Cup prospect when paying $50,000 for the Coolgardie Cup (1760m) and Kalgoorlie Cup (2200m) winner in an Inglis online sale last year.

“Reg Webb (part-owner of Ihtsahymn) had been at me for a while to get another Darwin Cup horse and nothing had taken my fancy until I saw this bloke up for sale,” Gulberti said.

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“I had a gut feel that he would be the right horse.”

Gulberti believes Living The Dream is well-weighted in the cup with the 61.5kg topweight - the same weight Ihtsahymn carried in his second cup triumph.

Jockey Brad Rawiller will ride Living The Dream in Darwin.
Camera IconJockey Brad Rawiller will ride Living The Dream in Darwin. Credit: IAIN GILLESPIE/The West Australian

Rawiller’s booking has also given Gulberti a boost in confidence.

“Getting Brad up here is a big bonus,” Gulberti said.

“The horse seemed to handle the 61 in the Metric Mile and all but one horse, Our Destrier, have similar weights in the cup.

“He’s done really well. I just hope there’s a bit of improvement in him from that first-up run.

“It was a pretty impressive win and Brad was stoked with him.”

Living The Dream jumps from barrier four and is the $2.70 favourite with Ladbrokes.

Former Victorian galloper Playoffs, who won the Chief Minister’s Cup (1600m) in his Darwin debut, is the $4 second favourite.

Gulberti said weight would determine whether Living The Dream progressed to the $100,000 Broome Cup (2200m) on August 13.

“We’ll just wait and see,” he said.

“I’d be surprised if we went that way, we’d possibly look at something like the Kalgoorlie Cup.”

Stafford’s Lad and Tellem We’re Comin will launch their Kalgoorlie Cup campaigns for trainer Dan Morton in Saturday’s $100,000 National Jockey Celebration Day Stakes (1400m) at Belmont Park.

Morton plans to give his star mare Kissonallforcheeks a jump-out at Flemington on August 8 ahead of her first-up start in the Cockram Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on August 27.

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