By Jordan Gerrans
After claiming a rare hometown Wondai Cup last Saturday afternoon, hard-working horseman Kym Afford has quickly turned his attention to the Country Cups Challenge series with the in-form Aces Up.
The Wondai trainer purchased the five-year-old gelding from Ryan Tyrell earlier this year with bush Cups in mind.
After half-a-dozen starts for the Afford camp, the trainer believes the penny has finally started to drop for Aces Up as he has won his last two races, with his latest triumph the Wondai Cup.
The 61-year-old Afford was represented in the big smoke during the Battle of the Bush series decider earlier this year and he is keen to do the same in the CCC Final in December.
He believes everything is lining up towards Aces Up being overly competitive in Saturday’s Gympie Cup over a mile, which doubles as a CCC qualifier.
“This qualifier wasn’t part of the original plan, we are just having a throw at the stumps in the Gympie Cup more than anything,” Afford said.