3 minute read
Apprentice Chelsea Baker rode the race of her life to land long-shot Island Warrior ($16 – $26) in the $125,000 3YO Cup (1200m) in Launceston on Wednesday night.
From barrier four, Baker found herself wedged away and back in the field in the early stages but she worked her way off the fence near the 600m and the filly did the rest, flashing home to grab Thespian Waters ($4.80 – $3.70) in the shadows of the post with D'Oro Star ($4) a close third.
"When I first started riding her, I thought she would be a nice filly.
"Her first-up run this prep was really good, but she needed it, and she's just proved that she's really good tonight," the young jockey said.
"I was quietly confident, it's always hard to be fully confident you need some form of luck, I knew if she didn't win tonight, she would show us that she's up to them."
Trainer John Blacker has set out an ambitious program for Island Warrior.
"She will follow on through the 3YO filly races, and our main target will be the Tassie Oaks (2100m) here."
Blinkers do the trick
Blinkers' first time can be an enormous help for some horses, and that proved the fact for promising mare Sistine in the 1100m Class 2.
Trained by Siggy Carr and ridden by apprentice Taylor Johnstone who pushed the horse through a narrow gap rounding the turn, Sistine ($4.60) held off the fast-finishing Cherokee Dancer ($3.60) to score by a half head with Furneaux ($6.50) third.
"She responded well to the blinkers; she was ready for a claim, she'd been carrying big weights, and what a brave ride, the ride did it.
"She was tightened there for room, and she was brave, and so was the horse," Carr said.
Pires and Keys, a formidable duo
Coming off riding four winners in Hobart on Sunday, David Pires picked up where he left off with a gem of a ride aboard Arelius in the 1200m maiden.
From the outside barrier, Pires had Arelius ($11) on the speed throughout and the lightly raced 4YO proved too strong, beating the heavily backed favourite Miss Keeds ($5.50 – $2.70) with Hypercube ($6) third.
"The staff down there are doing a mighty job.
"We tidied it up a bit and sharpened up in a few areas and it's working really good," trainer John Keys said after training his 10th winner from his past 27 starters.
Rough night for punters
Not a single favourite saluted for punters on Wednesday night, the biggest price of all the winners was Emmjay, having her 17th start, in the second division of the 1400m maiden, sailing down the centre of the track to win running away.
A drifter from $23 – $34, Emmjay paid better than $43 on the tote, but trainer Terry Evans was far from shocked by her win.
"If anybody had seen her last two starts, especially her last start, she got interfered with four times and was still finishing off, no way, it wasn't a surprise," Evans claimed.
The Hall Of Fame trainer admitted to having a few dollars on the mare at the big odds.
5YO Storm Giver ($18) was another double-figure winner, taking out the Kelvin Lucas Memorial (1600m).
Ridden by visiting jockey Stan Tsaikos and trained by Alana Fulton, Storm Giver appreciated coming back from 2100m to the mile trip.
"We've got a good training complex at home. We can freshen them up, and they don't have to go to the track every day to do their work," Fulton said.
