05 June 2024 | Ashleigh Paikos
Uptown Lad causes his connections plenty of trepidation with his on-track antics, but on Monday at Pinjarra he was cool, calm and collected when he took out the $11,000 STAWA TABTouch Trotters Cup over the 2631m trip, adding in a track record performance just for fun.
The four-year-old, who’s now had 32 starts for 10 wins and seven placings has now had seven of those wins in WA since making the move to the care of owner and trainer Karen Bennett in late 2023.
Taking just three starts to get his first win here in the west, Bennett didn’t dance around the fact that the gelding is very difficult at times, explaining that he’s the type of horse you don’t fight, but just let him do his own thing to keep him happy.
“One day Frank couldn’t even get him to work on the track at home, so he worked him in the paddock,
“He’s quite difficult, he’s a nice little horse but he’s quite a difficult little horse to get on with and Kyle does a wonderful job with him,
“I don’t think you could pop just anyone on him and send him out, because he’s known to bolt if he feels like it,
“He’s a lovely little horse, but he does have a few manners problems.”
Starting from the frontline handicap over the 2631m standing start trip, he was able to get away safely, leading all the way and coming out on top in a great finish to the line, where there was a short-half-head margin separating Uptown Lad and Chumani, and only a further 1.4m to Nickys Son in third place.
“It really blew me away when he won, he’s been working well and Frank keeps saying ‘he’s going real good now’,
“We were relatively confident, but you know, all those good ones, he’s only a baby compared to them really,
“Kyle just drove him perfectly; I can’t thank him enough.”
Making mention that he’s definitely the class of their stable, Bennett has five trotters in work including Bonnie Rae who she’s confident still has a couple of wins in her, Elish Star “the plodder” and maidens Your Kidding and Majestic Marion, who will likely head to Pinjarra next week.
Elish Star, the pacing bred trotter has spent the last couple of seasons in the care of Karen, and although he didn’t get a start in Mondays feature, has had 82 starts for eight wins and just over $78,000 in stakes, has had 78 starts for Bennett, averaging $1000 per start for his connections.
“He just plods along, he just needs a race to suit him, he’s got no sprint, he doesn’t do a lot wrong,
“He’s brilliant in a mobile, if he can get to the front he just plods along, it’s just hard now as he’s got up in the grades.”
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