Hewitt to fire on home front
THE festive season always delivers a wonderful atmosphere with several regional harness racing clubs hosting Carnival of Cups features.
On Friday, the Dubbo Harness Racing Club celebrated what has been a trying year due to the Covid-19 Pandemic by staging an exciting night of racing with the feature, the $30,000 Trump Bloodstock Red Ochre Mares Classic providing former Queensland driver, Isobel Ross with her first Group race win.
Ross was aboard the Amanda Turnbull-trained Gotta Party Doll and she charged the mare out of the gate to eventually find the top after just 500 metres.
From there Ross rated the mare perfectly and leaving the back for the final time, she allowed Gotta Party to extend, racing clear to score by almost 18 metres.
After the race, Ross struggled to contain her excitement, caught up in the moment of realising what she had just achieved.
“I am so grateful to Amanda for letting me drive this girl,” she said.
“She has done so much for me in my driving career and I cannot thank her enough.
“I love driving this mare, she is such a lovely horse.”
Amanda Turnbull actually dominated the meeting by landing both a training and driving treble, including a powerful win aboard Shoobee Doo in the Quambys Stayers Cup, a race she has won a number of times.
The win gives Shoobee Doo automatic entry into next Saturday night’s Group 2, $40,000 Shirley Turnbull Memorial, the headline event for the Bathurst Club’s Carnival of Cups.
And a man who will be eyeing off the Carnival at Bathurst is Brad Hewitt, who caused a boil-over two years ago when he stormed home aboard Our Triple Play to win the feature.
On Saturday night at Tabcorp Park Menangle, Our Triple Play bounced back to his best form to score a narrow win to give Hewitt the first leg of a race-to-race double, his second winner being The Texas Ranger.
This afternoon, Hewitt has two runners on his home track at Goulburn and will be hoping his good run of success continues.
Bowered Time, a gelding owned by Brad’s wife Milly, was a last-start Blayney winner and has drawn ideally (barrier one) in Race 6.
His second runner is recent Canberra winner Katamach (Race 7), which will have to overcome a wide barrier eight draw.
- MICHAEL DUMESNY