Trainer Roy Rogers tastes success in regional championship heat with progressive type Sneaky Fox

Sneaky Fox booked his place in the 2022 TABTouch Regional Championship Final at Ascot with a narrow win at the Albany Racing Club on Sunday. The five-year-old gelding won the $40,000 TABTouch Regional Championship Heat: Road To Ascot (1230m) by a neck for leading local trainer Roy Rogers and jockey Chris Nicoll at the second meeting of the new season. Sneaky Fox jumped a $2.80 favourite in the small field of six and was sent straight to the front by Nicoll before holding out the fast-finishing Kohli and Starauthoress in the final 100m. Rogers was delighted with the gelding’s start to his campaign, having won at the first meeting of the season just nine days earlier. “I thought it was a tough win. He got headed and it was good to fight back,” Rogers said. “I think the (final) field won’t be overly strong so I think he’s probably a genuine winning chance. “I know that Geraldton is quite thin, and so is Kalgoorlie. I think it might be one of the weakest races going forward, so I think the horse is in a good space. “The horse is in a good space, especially once he starts putting his form together…it’s (Road to Ascot final) a fortnight away so I reckon he’ll be spot on.” Rogers is also keen to have Mr Causeway run in the final, despite finishing fifth in the Albany heat. “Causeway will go into it and he will possibly be ridden by Damien Oliver,” he said. “We’re trying to secure Oliver to ride in the Westspeed Platinum Final as well. We’ve been speaking to his manager this morning and I get on with Damien, who actually suggested for me to buy Causeway. “It would be nice for Damien to ride it because he knows the horse.” The $100,000 Regional Championship Final will be run at Ascot on Saturday, November 26. Meanwhile, Albany trainer Liam O’Loughlin had success on the seven-race card, with Elite Fighter lumping 60.5kg to win impressively. Jockey Alan Kennedy got the best out of the four-year-old in the home straight as they won the class-two event by a half length. Classic Magnus made it two straight wins to start his campaign, winning the final race over 1100m on Sunday. The five-year-old mare won first-up in Albany and was well supported into a $2.70 favourite second-up, sitting just off the speed and powering home for hoop Jason Whiting to win by more than a length for trainer Peter Western.