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“I thought if I could give her a good run today with clear air, and let her move into it on her own terms, she’d be very strong and a good winning chance.
“I don’t know why she was silly odds, but it’s good to see her back in the winners’ stall and it’s a pleasure to ride a winner for Chris. I don’t ride a lot for him, but I’m always very thankful when I do get a ride off him and it makes it even more special when they win.”
David Pfieffer-trained Whinchat led and dominated under Jay Ford in the Wyong Town Plate (1350m), a benchmark 100 handicap, to score a first win in 22 months and set up a shot at the Carrington Stakes in two weeks. The six-year-old set a track record of 1:17.45.
Local combination wins for Bronte
Wyong trainer Damien Lane paid tribute to Bronte Simpson after he and fellow local Anna Roper combined with Oakfield Saturn to take out the race named in honour of the apprentice who was killed in a single-car crash last month.
The 24-year-old from Ballarat began her race riding career at Wyong under trainer Sara Ryan but moved this season to join Tamworth’s Jane Clement.
The Wyong club recognised her on its biggest day on Saturday with the Bronte Simpson Memorial Midway. Wyong apprentice Roper lifted Oakfield Saturn late to a close win over John Sargent-trained Perfect Justice.
Anna Roper returns victorious on Oakfield Saturn.Credit: Getty Images
“Bronte use to ride work for us of a morning before she would start at Sara’s,” Lane said.
“It’s just tragic. She was a lovely young girl and she was a hard worker.
“She obviously went to the bush to further her career but like KB [Wyong trainer Kristen Buchanan] said before the race, we always assumed she would be back here after riding 80 winners or whatever in the bush.
“To lose a life at that age is terrible and condolences obviously to the family, and I’m glad to get that win on the board for her.”
Oakfield Saturn, left, wins the Bronte Simpson Memorial Midway.Credit: Getty Images
Lane said the addition of blinkers was a key to victory for the Bruce Mackenzie-owned mare.
“I’m really happy for Bruce and also Anna,” he said. “She rides this horse every day and has a really good association with her and that’s her first win on her. And to do it here at home in a metro race is really good.”
Lane said the four-year-old would likely go for a spell.
Roper went on to grab a double on the day, taking Petticoat to a front-running win for Coffs Harbour trainer Brett Dodson in the 1100m fillies and mares benchmark 78 handicap.
Dodson, who weighed up a Magic Millions Country Cup campaign with the four-year-old before choosing Wyong, said he will look to fillies and mares stakes races with Petticoat after giving her a break.
Bridge’s Audit passes big test
Rank outsider Audit avoided a gelding operation and delivered on his track work to give trainer Les Bridge and first-time owners from New Zealand a victory on debut at Wyong on Saturday.
The $60,000 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale buy, a $21 chance in a five-horse field, edged out odds-on favourite and another son of King’s Legacy, Royal Exile, by a long head in the two-year-old handicap (1200m) with Andrew Adkins aboard to earn an $82,500 cheque.
“He’s always shown a bit at track work, just at trials he’s been a bit ordinary, a bit colty,” Bridge’s foreman, Ash Wright, said.
“He’s still learning, but we wanted to give him a day out just to test him. We were going to geld him pretty much after the trial, but we just wanted to check.
“We’ll keep him going as a colt now. Definitely in three weeks, we’ll probably look at something.”
Wright said Audit was a first horse with the stable from owners Curtis and Reed McNaughton, “a couple of lads from Auckland”.
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Cheap buy delivers breakthrough
Mudgee trainer Mark Jones will target the Country Championships with bargain buy Crusader Kings after he delivered him a first Highway Handicap win.
The five-year-old won by a half head in a four-way finish under Sam Clipperton in the 1100m class 3, giving Jones and his owners their biggest success since buying the former Clinton McDonald-trained galloper for just $9000 online.
“We are mainly trying to set him for the Championships and he needed to win that,” said Jones, who has just two horses in work.
“If he performed well here, there’s another Highway in two weeks at Randwick we planned to go with him. I think each time we step him up he will get that bit better.”
The win was part of a double for Clipperton, who later took Chris Waller-trained Unlimited to an easy win in the benchmark 88 handicap over 2100m.
