Unofficial Lord Mayor of Bendigo

POPULAR reinsman Alex Ashwood “put on a clinic” in Bendigo last night.

Affectionately-known as Albie, and in recent times the Unofficial Lord Mayor of Bendigo, the talented driver won four of the eight races on the card, with his winners including Wicked Azz which is trained by his partner Kate Hargreaves.

“It was a great night,” Ashwood said. “I felt I had a good card of drives with some winning chances but you never expect it to work out that way.

“They all went well and it was great to get the results for the trainers and owners.”

Pippa One Two opened Ashwood’s account by capturing the first event for trainer Trevor Patching.

Sustaining a strong three-wide run without cover during the final lap, Pippa One Two grabbed the lead in the last stride to score by a head from the pacemaker Will He Star.

Ardent Bliss was 21 metres away third in 1:59.9 over 2150 metres.

“She had to do it tough but got there in the end, which is the main thing,” Ashwood said. “That was only her second start after nearly four years off and she did a terrific job

“Full credit to Trevor for getting her back to the races and winning like she did.”

Wicked Azz then accounted for Lets Make Tracks and Ozzie Sunshine in 2:00 over 2150 metres.

After leading from barrier two, the daughter of Pet Rock was eased to take a trail during the middle stages in what proved a winning move.

“She has won her last couple now and we couldn’t be happier with her,” Ashwood said. “She’s not blessed with a ton of ability but she is a good tryer.”

Ashwood completed a running double when Belltopperboy outstayed his rivals in 2:04.2 over 2150 metres.

After racing in the ‘death seat’ the son of Orlando Vici completed a seven-and-a-half metre win from Delarose, with Mumstheword six-and-a-half metres away third.

“He’s also won his last couple of starts and is going along really nicely for Ken (Harpley, trainer),” Ashwood said.

Ashwood then reunited with Patching to guide Busters Grin to an upset victory.

Paying $10.40 on the tote, the son of Grinfromeartoear beat the $1.30 favourite Exciter by a neck, with Our Doreen Days a metre-and-a-half away third.

“If you look at his record you will see he has always been consistent,” Ashwood said. “That’s two wins from his last three starts and he can pick up a few more the way he is going.”