30 November 2020 | HRNSW MEDIA
CHAMPION Bathurst-born driver Amanda Turnbull made a stunning return to New South Wales when she landed a winning double at Young on Friday night, including the feature Cherry Festival Cup aboard smart four-year-old Shoobee Doo along with a win earlier in the night with Meraviglia.
Proving her stamina and strong work ethic, Turnbull drove into the Young Paceway enroute to Bathurst after making the five-hour trip from Sheppparton.
And with two impressive winners on the float, she resumed her journey home with a spring in her step.
On paper, the Quayle Milling Young Cherry Cup promised to be an exciting contest . . . and it did not disappoint.
Send It and Shoobee Doo battled for favouritism and then made it a two-horse war which ended in a thrilling finish.
Brad Hewitt was forced to use Send It out of gate one to retain the lead but was then able to back off the speed through the first half of the last mile.
Turnbull was quick to move Shoobee Doo around the field just after the start, settling at the wheel of Send It.
But with 800 metres to run, Hewitt turned the handlebars down and Turnbull hurried her charge up to eyeball the leader.
They quickly got away from the rest of the field and fought out the finish, Shoobee Doo prevailing by a bare margin after they clocked off a fast 55.8s last half.
At a post-race interview, Amanda Turnbull clearly appeared to be in a happy place being on such familiar turf.
“I am so pleased to be back in the region and heading for home,” said Amanda.
“Things were going great down at Shepparton with plenty of winners and happy owners, but I was just missing family so much and life is all about a balance.”
Steph (Burley) and Isobel (Ross) have done a great job running my Bathurst stable while I was away, and we are all looking forward to doing better things together now that I am back.”
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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