07 November 2022 | Duncan Dornauf
On Sunday night, Ryley Major returned to the track with a dominant win in the opening race in Launceston.
The rising ten-year-old, who was first up since late April, settled one-out and two-back in the six-horse field and produced his brilliant will to win that we have seen repeatedly in his 70-start racing career.
He scored a four-metre win over race favourite Harjeet, who would have lost no admirers after being forced to race outside the leader throughout the 2200m trip, which was run in a slick mile rate of 1m 56.9s.
It was Ryley Major’s fastest winning mile rate in 36 races that he has contested in the 2001m to 2300m distance range.
His previous best winning mile rating in that range was 1m 57.2s, which he recorded in Hobart in November 2019.
Trainer-driver Rohan Hillier confirmed post-race that the pacer will miss the first heat of the $50,000 Tassie Golden Apple this week and will weigh up in the coming weeks if he contests the second heat scheduled for 27 November.
The Group 2 final will be held on the first Saturday in December.
It was a tough quaddie for punters on the 10-race card.
Theuglysister broke through for her maiden win at $21 after enjoying a soft peg run before driver Tiarna Ford got the filly into clear racing room when turning into the final straight.
In the second leg, Kuzma scored at $15 in a slick mile rate of 1m 57.8s for 2200m.
A rapid lead time of 41.0s (which converts to a mile rate 1m 51.6s for that section) set the race up for a horse back in the field, with the Highview Tommy gelding notching up his fifth win of the season.
If quaddie players were still alive, they then had another $21 result in the third leg, when Where Ya Bin overcame barrier seven over the sprint trip, continuing his good season, which has seen him win six races and record eight minor placings.
Tarleton Riley scored in the last leg at $11.
It was back-to-back wins for the gelding, who won in Burnie the week prior and was driven on both occasions by Taylor Ford, who recently returned to the state after a stint in Victoria.
Launceston will host a bumper card this Sunday night, featuring four Group 2 Tasbred Finals and the opening heat of the Tassie Golden Apple.
Watch Ryley Major return to the track with a dominant first-up win.
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