Apprentice jockey Damian Lane takes victory on Tube.
TUBE’S cup finally overflowed at Burrumbeet yesterday.The Cranbourne galloper ended a frustrating run of country cup minor placings by taking out the $15,000 Scott Petroleum Burrumbeet Cup, 1800 metres.And Tube ($2.10 favourite) did it with ease in front of 4500 racegoers.He ran away by a length from Irish import and rank outsider Amber Grey ($13), with Escape Artist ($8) another four lengths away third.The win had everything for connections – excitement, relief and emotion.For part-owner Brian Palmer, who is the father-in-law of Tube’s trainer Damien Williams, the cup success brought childhood memories of fishing at Lake Burrumbeet with his father flooding back.Although yesterday was his first time at the Burrumbeet races, the area is well known to him.His father Keith grew up in Ballarat and family members still live in the city.Brian Palmer said his father played football with Golden Point in the late 1930s, kicking 26 goals in one game, before going on to play with Geelong and Footscray.He said the family link with the Ballarat district added to the significance of Tube’s triumph.Tube had finished second in this year’s Ararat Gold Cup, third in the Bairnsdale Cup and third in the listed Cranbourne Cup before venturing to Burrumbeet, as well as an encouraging fourth in the Moe Cup mid-December.As Palmer said at the presentation, “he’s been in more cups than a tea bag”.As promising as all those performances had been, Tube had not won at all since Donald in September, 2009. That run of outs finally came to an end at Cranbourne on December 23. Now the seven-year-old has won two in a row and with six career wins in 50 starts earned more than $110,000.Williams, on his first visit to Burrumbeet, said he had been persuaded by fellow Cranbourne trainer Ken Keys to take on the non-TAB feature event with Tube.Keys knows all about winning the Burrumbeet Cup. He has achieved this twice in the past decade with El Edicion in 2002 and Blue Collar Jack in 2010. Keys also accepted with Pliers for yesterday’s Cup, but instead ran the six-year-old at Stony Creek on Friday.Williams said he would not hesitate returning to Burrumbeet.“Maybe we’ll come back with him (Tube) next year.”Williams said dropping Tube back in class had been a telling factor.“It’s paid off. He’s earned $20,000 in little more than a week.”Former West Australian jockey Damian Lane will also long remember his first visit to Burrumbeet.Tube was second leg of a winning treble on the seven-event program.Lane also scored on Polymook in the McKinnon Seed Cleaning 0-68 Handicap, 1350m, and Coodawoodashooda in the McCains Foods 0-58 Handicap, 1000m.In taking out the Cup, Lane became the first recipient of a trophy provided by Garry and Marita Murphy to the Cup-winning jockey.Garry Murphy is a multiple winner of the event.