TEENAGER Jess Gilchrist had to wait until the final race of the night to make her driving debut, but it was worth it as she made a memorable start to her career at Wagga on Saturday night. Gilchrist had all night to prepare for her only drive and it was a moment to cherish as she guided Lighting Colony to victory.
The 19-year-old had the majority of her eight siblings on track plus other well wishers as her long awaited debut produced the perfect result. Gilchrist has worked for Lighting Colony’s trainer Bernie Kelly for several years and the master trainer was delighted she could win on debut.
“What a great start for her. She had her licence for a while and I wanted Jess to have plenty of trial drives before she went into a race,” Kelly said.
Gilchrist took a break from harness racing for short time switching over to thoroughbreds, but found her way back into harness.
“It’s pretty exciting to win at your first drive,” she said.
“I was a bit nervous, but more anxious to have my first drive.”
Lighting Colony was reluctant to parade correctly as the field circled for the start, but once out and running he found the lead after several hundred metres and remained there throughout. Gilchrist gave her rivals little chance setting a time rarely seen at Wagga for the first 800 metres – 69.7 seconds. She received a $100 fine for the slow pace, but the result was the most important part to her.
“I was going a bit slow, but he won which is the main thing,” she said.
Gilchrist has learned a lot from Kelly over the years and was pleased to win for the veteran trainer.
“Bernie has given me a lot of trial drives and my first race drive for a win so I’m pretty happy,” she said.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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