Walkway Cup champ Yuill hoping to repeat success in Perth on Freez’emoff

The action just doesn’t stop for Kyra Yuill. But when you’re a top hoop, you’d expect your phone to ring off the hook — and, fresh off a second successive win in the Walkaway Cup at Geraldton Turf Club last weekend, she’ll be hoping to repeat a groundbreaking success in Perth this Saturday. After saluting in the Walkaway Cup feature at the Geraldton Turf Club last Sunday for a second year running, she’s secured her ride for the Perth Cup — Freez’emoff, trained by Geraldton local Graeme Hammarquist. That means that not only is she coming off a win in the Mid West, she’ll also be on a horse she’s ridden to victory at two of the biggest races on the Geraldton calendar. With Freez’emoff ineligible for local competition, the win over the weekend came on Strong Heart, trained by local Gordon Spowart. But the band will be back together at Ascot and hoping to repeat the formula that brought them last year’s Walkaway Cup and Geraldton Cup. They’re drawing long odds on a win in the $400,000 race over 2400m, $21 on Ladbrokes.com, while favourite Truly Great is paying $1.90 with jockey William Pike aboard. But Yuill has faced challenges before — she was the first female jockey to win the cup in 2011, and came back from a dip in form to ride her way into Perth Now’s top 20 most influential West Aussies in racing this year. The win over the weekend was just the most recent for a jockey in form. Yuill and Freez’emoff took two firsts at Belmont earlier this year, and Hammarquist is said to be happy with the six-year-old mare’s current form. “It was great to go back to back,” Yuill said. “He’s (Hammarquist) happy with her, so that’s the main thing.”