by Terry Neil
WEST Australian invitee Michael Ferguson improved on his solid start to the NSW Rising Stars series with a polished display to take out the third heat at Bathurst’s Group One Feeds Paceway last Wednesday night.
Starting from an inside second row draw with Gotta Bewitched NZ, he negotiated his way off the markers mid-race, got into the three-wide train at the seven hundred metres point and brought the $2.70 favourite with a strong run down the centre of the track to overpower leader Sabrage (Mackayler Barnes) and then hold out the fast-finishing Swaggie Shannon (Ellen Rixon).
All junior driver races are very competitive affairs. This was no different, with Sabrage maintaining a torrid pace in front, the first half put by in 57.6 seconds and the trip home in 57.4 seconds for a 1:54.8 mile rate on a very cold winter night. A most impressive effort, by horse and driver.
It was the second successive win for Gotta Bewitched since joining the Gemma Hewitt stable at Bathurst, but it maintained the mare’s outstanding record at the track: five starts now, for four wins, and remarkably, each with a different driver. Nathan Xuereb, Todd McCarthy, John O’Shea and now Michael Ferguson, can attest to the mare’s consistency.
The daughter of Gotta Go Cullen was bred in central Otago, not too far from where a pretty handy pacer named Imthemightyquinn was bred. “Quinny” became one of the greatest horses of all time when racing from the Gary Hall stable, and one of the stablehands who got to drive him in trackwork, Michael Ferguson, naturally rates that as a career highlight.
Mrs Browns Boy NZ was an even shorter favourite at $1.60 in heat four of the series on Wednesday, and punters had no cause for concern, with Metropolitan representative Stephanie Lippiatt positioning the Real Desire gelding in the one-one and biding her time till the turn, where she unleashed a big sprint to run down leading pair Taylor Hood (Cameron Hart) and Ima Black Beauty (Michael Ferguson).
With a last half of 56.4 seconds, the sprint trip was covered at a 1:55.3 rate, second quickest of the night, in confirmation of the earlier observation about junior races.
At a presentation from the Club to all the junior drivers following this race, Stephanie commented that she was very pleased by the win, and equally pleased to know that husband David Morris was looking after himself, and their baby, quite successfully during her week of rep. duty!
Her winner, Mrs Browns Boy, is three-from-three in Australia, after being imported by Amanda Turnbull, who trains him for a syndicate which includes her mother Jenny.
An established star these days, and not the rising star she once was, Amanda added to her training win with two successful drives for her father Steve at the meeting, to further increase her lead in the drivers’ premiership.
El Gran Señor NZ in a 2260 metres 3YO led, handed up during the middle stages – ” I was concerned about the longer trip”- and came late after working clear, just as the connections of runner-up Hez All Courage were counting the money. A bit of an omen for the State of Origin game later on, but no more of that!
Jet On Ice enjoyed a nice run behind the speed in a C1/C2 Menangle sprint before doing best in a very busy finish, scoring in a 1:56.8 rate, to bring up the double.
The earlier Menangle sprint, for C0 grade, went to the Monica Betts-trained Abercrombie Tab, a second successive win for the horse and driver Angela Hedges, who used the sprint lane to success, and who credited stablehand Phoebe Betts with the four-year-old’s recent good form.
Angela didn’t have bragging rights to herself, because her fiancé Nathan Hurst made his own way to the winners’ circle, taking out the fast-class with the fast-finishing Tulhurst Ace, after a good trip in the one-one. Hursty indicated that the horse had been toughened up by some recent racing at Menangle.
The 2YO event early in the meeting saw Trunkey Digger lead throughout for Mat Rue, having his first race drive on the youngster, which he’d driven many times on the training track when he worked for Bernie before his recent move to his own stables at Bathurst Showground. Mat remembers him as “a bit of a handful” and says he hasn’t changed much!
Jedda Shannon (Aaron Garaty for Peter Bullock) confirmed the promise shown in a debut third by leading throughout in the closing C0 sprint, bursting away at the top of the straight and coasting down to the line to win by two-and-a-half metres, which was remarkably the night’s biggest winning margin.
She’s bred to be good – by Courage from a half-sister to Blacks A Fake, no less – and it will be interesting to see how she performs in coming starts.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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