BY TOM BARBER (Daily Liberal, 3 January 2023)

Michael Mulholland and Serg Lisnyy continued their successful partnership at Gilgandra on Monday after taking out the town's Cup.

For the second time in three days, Mulholland and Lisnyy combined at Gilgandra but this time with Cheptegi who won Monday's biggest race.

Originally set to run over 1600m, the Gilgandra Services Club Co-op Gilgandra Cup had to be run across 1280m due to track conditions but it didn't phase Mulholland's gelding.

Speaking to Sky Thoroughbred Central after the win, Mulholland actually welcomed the change in distance after some trainers expressed their disappointment at the race not being postponed earlier in the day.

"It didn't matter (how long the race was), there was a bit of pace early and this thing comes down late, it was right in the middle of the park where you need to be," he said.

Great Buy ($3.30) got off to a terrific start for Brett Robb as did Vital Verse ($7) through the opening stages of the adjusted race.

Cheptegi ($5.50) and Oakfield Prince ($2.45) opted to remain in the middle of the pack as the lead pair tried their best to put some distance on.

However, Cheptegi and Lisnyy began to get into their work just before the bend, pushing wide after finding a gap past Oakfield Prince.

Vital Verse began to drop back and was quickly replaced by Cheptegi, with the latter accelerating around the outside to cruise past Great Buy to take the win and the Cup for Mulholland.

On Saturday, Lisnyy rode Colville House to a win for Mulholland in the Collie Hotel and Happy 60th John! Class 1 and Maiden Plate (1800m), continuing the pairs form at the track.

Vital Verse managed to finish third, two lengths back from the leader narrowly ahead of Oakfield Prince, who would've been suited to a longer race after trainer Damien Lane voiced his frustrations earlier in the day.

But regardless of what happened prior to the race, Mulholland felt his gelding showed some great speed in the second half of the run.

"It was a bit to push him into that fourth, fifth or sixth spot, he just sat behind them," he said.

Now having won his third race from the last five starts, Cheptegi is in scintillating form and Mulholland already had a targeted Cup run in mind for his gelding.

"Cowra Cup actually, that's why we came for this run was to prepare for the Cowra Cup and from there we will see what happens," he said.

Set to be held on January 15, the Cowra Cup was transferred to Orange's Towac Park following the recent flooding.

Cowra's race track is still recovering from the damage caused by the floods and Racing NSW has deemed the facility unsuitable to host the meeting.

The Cowra Cup will now be run over 1600m as opposed to 1700m which was the originally intended distance.