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The new racing season began in the best way possible for trainer Adam Trinder who prepared half the winners on Sunday’s eight-race card in Devonport.
On paper, it looked a day that could be dominated by Adam Trinder on his home track and that certainly proved to be the case, winning four of the five races from which he had runners entered.
Trinder won four races in succession, beginning with Big John ($2.45 out to $2.70) in a 1350m maiden. The seven-year-old gelding was lining up for just his fourth career start and put in a tough performance after racing outside the leader I'm Keefe ($14 into $7) for most of the race.
"Owned by Ricky Currie, he gave him a heap of time and allowed him to mature out, he's a big imposing sort of horse and it's really satisfying to get this win for Ricky," said Trinder after the race.
Brendon McCoull partnered Big John to victory and it quickly became a race-to-race double for McCoull and Trinder with Drinks At Vista ($5 into $3.4) recording an ultra-impressive victory in a 1350m class 1.
The former Danny O'Brien trained five-year-old was having her first Tasmanian start, and after being given the run of the race by McCoull trailing the speed, Drinks At Vista exploded away in the straight to win by over five lengths from Dutch Action ($4.40). The winning time was almost two seconds quicker than the BM68 that followed.
"Catherine Hills from Alva Stud brought her here about six weeks ago as a broodmare proposition," said Trinder about his recent stable addition.
"The quota was don't race her if you don't think she can be competitive, so we expected her to come here and win.
"She's bred to stay, and she won a lot more impressively than I thought today.
"You never know, she might even end up being a Launceston Cup horse," added the trainer.
The heavily supported Sharma's Last ($2.10 into $1.85) was the next of Trinder's winners, ensuring all punters would have remained alive in the quaddie with a BM68 (1350m) win in the opening leg.
With apprentice Erica Byrne Burke in the saddle, the four-year-gelding finished powerfully to overcome the gallant Hot Relation and Square Donut (both $5.50), in a race where the trifecta cleared out from the field.
The win improved Sharma's Last career record to four wins from six starts and a perfect three from three in Devonport.
"He's a very talented horse but he's still quite green," said Byrne Burke after the race, with all Sharma's Last wins coming with her in the saddle.
"Coming into the straight he still just wants to lay in quite bad, but he knows where the line is, so he gets the job done."
Byrne Burke added to her winning tally for Trinder in the following race with another newcomer to the state, Tequila Spirit.
The five-year-old mare defied a betting drift ($4.60 out to $8) to lead throughout in the Kevin Sharkie Class 2 (1150m).
The fast start to the season may well be a sign of things to come for Trinder who is always a strong performer in Devonport, and five of the first eight meetings for the season are on the synthetic track.
