It was once said that while ambition is the path to success, persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.
Shane Pulbrook certainly used that persistence vehicle - not to mention his own vehicle, back and forth to Wauchope from his home at Tahmoor, but, eventually, his persistence was rewarded with success.
Last Saturday night Shane’s dog Sunlit Digger led throughout to win the Wauchope Cup … finally.
It only took three trips, around 3,000kms, and roughly 36 hours on the road, to get the job done.
“It’s a race I really wanted to win,” Shane said. “The last three years I’ve been up and I ran third, third and second, and then finally won it this year.
“I had Tiggerlong Spot finish third two years in a row, then I thought last year I had the right dog - Wighton - but he came second. I think he was a faster dog than Sunlit Digger, but he didn’t have the box manners, and this year I had a dog who was not as fast, but he had good box manners, and he was able to get out and go, and they couldn’t catch him.
“I don’t know why but I have just wanted to win this race, and I honestly felt like I had just won the Easter Egg ... and it was the Wauchope Cup.”
When you consider what went into this victory, Shane’s delight is not surprising.
It all began when Sunlit Digger drew the eight in the opening heat of the Cup back on December 29.
“The first trip was the weekend after Christmas and there was a lot of traffic and a lot of accidents and it took us eight hours to get up there,” Shane explained.
“We left at 10am and got there at 6pm and drove into the track and was about to pay our entry fee and the lady at the gate said there is no use me taking your money, as it looks like we’re going to be called off. I honestly thought she was joking, but no, the meeting was called off and the Cup heats transferred to the next week, so we turned around and headed home.
“I gave the dog the week off after all that travel, and then the following week we went up again. It took - with stops to stretch our legs and walk the dog - about five and a half hours to do the trip which is just under 500kms, and again, we got here and they abandoned the meeting because of the heat.
“They made the Cup a straight final and luckily I got a run, but during the week I went to Wentworth Park and Dapto and everyone I bumped into said: “You’re definitely not going up for a third time are you?” When I said I was, they told me I needed to see a psychiatrist.”
So Shane and Sunlit Digger ventured north again, this time a day earlier and staying at his uncle’s property an hour out of Wauchope.
This time, the meeting went ahead, Sunlit Digger jumped from box one and raced away to win the $4,000 to the winner Cup.
“I haven’t given the trophy or rug to the owner yet, it’s still in my hands and after all we went through, I’m a little bit hesitant to let it go,” Shane said.
“It wasn’t about the money. I probably spent more money in travel and looking after the dog and preparing him, than what the race was worth. It was just a race I really wanted to win.”
