Interstate domination continues

VICTORIAN horsewoman Emma Stewart continued her love affair with South Australia last weekend.

A frequent cross-border raider, Stewart’s strike rate in SA is phenomenal, such as 25 wins and four placings from 34 starts last season.

Just to highlight Stewart’s SA successes, since 2015 HRSA has conducted 44 races offering prizemoney of $50,000 or more, with Stewart and her partner, Clayton Tonkin, winning 19.

Of the 44, however, Tonkin and Stewart have only contested 22, giving them an astonishing strike rate of 86.4 per cent in SA’s richest races.

Stewart and Tonkin’s haul includes all three of The Allwood Finals in 2019, ’20 and ’21 – which before this season – were the only $100,000 events in the state since the 2018 SA Cup, which they also won with Shadow Sax!

The couple have also won the likes of SA’s Derby and Oaks and a host of Southern Cross Finals along with other supporting features.

“We always enjoy having a runner at Globe Derby,” Stewart said. “The racing is strong and there are often very suitable races for some of our horses.”

As for her latest raid, Stewart captured the $100,000 SA Cup and the $20,000 Golden Nursery, taking her 2026 tally to 11 wins and a pair of seconds from 13 starts!

Driven by Tasmanian-born reinswoman Taylor Ford, The Last Trip blitzed his rivals in the Cup to give Stewart her third Cup from the last four editions of the time-honoured event.

Fresh from winning his heat in a track record 1:55.5 the previous week, The Last Trip cruised to a 15-and-a-half metre triumph from Forty Love, with Ultimate Vinnie two metres away third.

Rating 1:57.7, the four-year-old stretched his record to nine wins and two placings from 13 starts for earnings of $128,636.

“As soon as I found the front I felt like the race was over,” Ford said. “It was just a matter of him running along as he pleased.

“When he strode away from them in the home straight it was an amazing feeling.

“That is my biggest win and I couldn’t be more thrilled or grateful for Emma and the owners for giving me the opportunity to drive him.

“He is something special…by far the best I have driven.”

Earlier on the card Casterton outstayed his rivals to secure in the Golden Nursery with Jackie Barker in the cart.

After working overtime in the ‘death seat’, the son of Downbytheseaside accounted for Champagne Problems and Rankine in 1:57.3 over 1800 metres.

Bred and owned by former Harness Racing SA Chairman Mark Carey, Casterton boasts three wins from four starts.