24 October 2022 | Duncan Dornauf for Tasracing
The first heats of the three and four-year-old legs of the Tasmanian Sires’ Stakes series were an easy watch for favourite punters, with all four favourites scoring.
Here is a recap of the four heats on the 10-race Launceston card.
3YO Fillies – 6ty° Bandbox
Iden Boutique outstayed her rivals after reinsman Mark Yole was forced to race outside the leader, Mays Place, in the 2200m event.
The daughter of Sutter Hanover took over at the top of the home straight to hold off Baby You A Song by 1.3m, in a mile rating of 2m 1.9s.
Trainer Christian Salter was pleasantly surprised by the filly’s effort.
“I was really pleased, she went a lot better than I thought she would go.
“She was a few weeks between runs and was a bit underdone on her work.
“So to sit in the breeze and do what she did was a creditable run,” Salter said.
Salter initially was only pre-training the filly for prominent owner Elliot Booth, but the way things have panned out, he now has a strong contender for the $60,000 Final in his care.
“I was just jogging her and Iden Miss Lucy up to send to other trainers, but three trainers knocked them back as they had too many horses, and I got left with them, which has worked out well for me,” explained Salter.
The trainer believes the filly has matured a lot since her two-year-old year, and he acknowledges the final will be no easy task.
“Every trainer has their horses spot on for the final, so she would have to be on her game.
3YO Colts and geldings – Nutrein Ag Solutions Globe Derby
Mickey Oh ($3 fav) commenced his mission for back-to-back Sires’ Stakes titles with a 1.6m win in the first heat.
Trainer-driver Matthew Howlett worked forward to find the lead, passing the mile mark and controlled the tempo in a 63.6s first half of the final mile.
The gelded son of Racing Hill held off Joe The Bookie over the concluding stages to score by 1.6m, with Magician a further 13.4m away third, in a 57.1 last half mile.
4YO Mares – Collins Homes Granny Smith
The Craig Hayes-trained Melnrowley ($2.10 fav) remains undefeated for the season when the daughter of Heston Blue Chip recorded a 10m win.
Reinsman Gareth Rattray positioned the mare one-out and two-back before racing three-wide from the 1100m to find the position outside the leader at the 650m.
Gareth let the mare stride from the 400m, where she dashed away to defeat last season’s Bandbox winner, Barooga Rock, who ran one of her best races this campaign.
4YO Entires and geldings – Tasfreight Raider Stakes
Victorian trainer Emma Stewart prepared Longfellow to victory, another searching for back-to-back Sires’ Stakes titles, and he commenced his Raider Stakes campaign with an all-the-way win.
The Bettors Delight entire had to be shaken up by driver Allan McDonough late, with the pacer responding for a six-metre win over Agouda Ruler and Stormy Sanz.
The win continued the excellent run of Emma Stewart in the state this season, winning all 12 races she has contested from 13 runners.
The road ahead
Further heats of all four divisions are programmed for Hobart on Sunday night.
However, winners are ineligible to compete, and only those nominated for the Launceston heats are eligible to contest the Hobart heats, which will include ballots from the Granny Smith.
The $60,000 Finals, the highest ever for the Tasmanian Sires’ Stakes series, will be held in Launceston on 13 November.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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