It wasn’t pretty, but it meant a lot to the horse and rider who put their heads down and got the job done.
While those around her made mistakes, Kylee Paull’s mistake-prone eight-year-old, Whiskey Business, was picture perfect, stepping away well from the strands and giving his Warragul trainer, rider and part-owner a big thrill.
The Aldebaran Park Monte, over 1630m on Tri-Codes night at Cranbourne, delivered not only the Jr Mint gelding’s first win under mounted conditions, but the first of his career at start 41.
“I guess it was a pretty special win, my dad (John) and I own him and also bred him and it’s pretty exciting as he’s had a lot of problems,” Paull said.
Being on the inside of the front row, Whiskey Business stepped lovely to lead and, when four of his five rivals galloped, he took full advantage and never threatened when winning by 13.2m in a 2:05.6 mile rate.
Paull was understandably ecstatic with the victory.
“I know how much time and effort I’ve had to put into him and he’s been sacked that many times from being in the cart, so just to have him trot a full circle on the track let alone win was quite an achievement.”
Paull and her father presented trotters in shows throughout Victoria, “then we got into a bit of breeding and a bit of racing and haven’t looked back since”.
The half-brother to former top-class trotter I See Icy Earl, a Group 1 winner of the Redwood Classic in 2010, will keep running in montes, with the next of those being at Tabcorp Park Melton on December 5 over 1720m.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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