However, that money did not go where many may have expected.
Saunders was most definitely not behind the naming of the event, he said.
The naming of the 2200m event came as a surprise to him when the fields for Saturday’s meeting came out earlier in the week.
He quickly found out it was some of the owners of Blarney Babe who were behind it.
"People thought it was me, but actually one of my syndicates sponsored it," Saunders said.
"They named it after my rugby career, I believe.
"It worked out quite good for them in the end."
Saunders’ owners got their money back and had the last laugh when their pacer ran to a good win in the race.
Blarney Babe is raced by the Bratk Syndicate, The Sue Ping Syndicate and the High Hopes Racing Syndicate along with Saunders.
"She deserved it. She had been going good races and she won nice," Saunders said.
The victory came after Saunders decided on a change of tactics for the 4yr-old Panspacificflight mare.
He had had enough of watching the horse run home for minor prizes from back in the field.
So, he instructed Maruia Parker to put the horse up on the speed.
She did and Blarney Babe was outside leader Flogging Molly throughout.
"It was the first time was have driven her like that. It was just a bit of a change of tactics, really.
"I was sick of being unlucky, so I told Maruia to get amongst it and she drove her perfectly."
Blarney Babe will have her next race in the newly developed Southland Ladyship Stakes series in a fortnight.
She will then meet familiar conditions at next month’s Cromwell meeting.
"She will go to the Ladyship Stakes in two weeks and then we might take a team up to Cromwell.
"They work on the grass everyday, so they should cop it pretty well."
Saturday’s meeting was also a good one for Balfour trainer Robert Wilson.
Downpours made his home track unusable for the popular annual Tin Shed Cup meeting last weekend.
Flooding in the Balfour region was not enough to stop Wilson getting his team worked this week.
That was obvious when he scored wins with Spotlight The Valley and Better Galleon on Saturday.
Both horses were driven by John Morrison, New Zealand’s latest gold-capped driver.
