Lucky, flukey, fortunate, blessed … some of the more printable terms than the colloquial one used by Glencoe trainer Kevin Von Duve to describe Springfield Affair’s Matthews Petroleum Mount Gambier Gold Cup victory on Saturday night.

To give a hint on Von Duve’s assessment, it rhymes with Darcy (minus the first letter!).

Those who watched the 2590-metre feature would certainly agree with Von Duve’s reference.

Caught two-back along the pegs from barrier five, driver Mark Phillips ensured Springfield Affair gained an opening greater than the parting of the Red Sea turning for home, before sprinting to a short half-head win from Sea Lover.

In a ‘blanket finish’, Royal Speech was a head away third.

“He went super, but I cannot believe the run he got,” Von Duve said.

“He was two-back in the run, then on the last corner he was behind the leader, because the one that was in that position came off the pegs, which opened the door for him.

“He is not known for being a stayer, and I am surprised he won, but he had a dream run…it was one of the flukiest you could ever have.”

Rating 2:01.9, the son of Shadow Play broke a three-month drought from the winners’ circle to take his record to 14 wins and 28 placings from 86 starts.

“He has been racing without luck which he got this time and that makes the difference,” Von Duve said.

“I have got a couple of two-year-olds I may take to Adelaide this Saturday night, so he may tag along and see how he goes there.

“Other than that, Kapunda and Horsham are also options, so I will just plod along with him and see what happens.”

It was the 50th running of the cup, on an action packed night of harness racing, which also featured the heats for the pacing cup and a chance to get a look at some future stars in the pony trots Gold Cup.

Club president Simon Phillips was thrilled with the event, which attracted a great crowd.

“We were extremely happy with the crowd, it was our most successful cup meeting for five or six years,” Phillips said.

“It was a great atmosphere, especially with the live music.”

The Pony Trots Gold Cup provided a chance for some youngsters to show their talent off to a big crowd.

All participants in the pony trots gold cup gave it their all and delivered a fantastic performance, with the winner being Kloe Phillips with Super Mario.

“The support the kids get from the families and all the other kids that are there, it’s fantastic and it just adds to the family feel of the night,” Phillips said.

Phillips was extremely pleased with the community support shown to the Gold Cup, with the gate bringing in almost $6000, which did not include members.

When it came to the main event, Springfield Affair showed huge improvement from its heat race where it finished fifth fastest in its heat.

“He did just enough to get through to the final and then a great drive by Mark Phillips was enough to see him get through and get the win in the cup,” Phillips said.

“All other participants were really happy with the night, and thought the club had done a fantastic job at promoting it.”