Albany’s Rosie Mahony joined a growing list of interstate apprentices who have tasted success on debut in Darwin with a winning double at Fannie Bay on Friday.
For the 24-year-old to achieve the feat by sealing both heats for WA during the fourth leg of the National Apprentice Race Series capped off a big day.
Mahony won Heat 7 aboard Chris Pollard’s Bart’s Bullet ($9) with the seven-year-old gelding – seemingly no chance of running a place at the 200m – motoring home to get the cash over 1300m (BM54).
A former NSW and WA galloper, the son of Bullet Train, pipped Tayarn Halter’s $2.05 favourite The Stifmeister, with Darwin’s Jade Hampson aboard, by a half-neck with Phil Cole’s Supremo ($15), ridden by Jade Doyle (SA), third.
Sitting off the pace in fourth place, Hampson led turning for home, and with 100m to go, The Stifmeister (60kg) looked like making it three straight wins before Bart’s Bullet (57kg), winless in the Top End after seven previous attempts, swooped.
Mahony made it 66 career wins after drawing Gary Clarke’s $1.60 favourite Spaceship who was making its NT debut after leaving Robert Heathcote’s Eagle Farm yard before winning Heat 8 by 4.8 lengths over 1200m (Class 2).
Spaceship, the winner of two Doomben races in seven Brisbane starts, sat outside Magnetic Tycoon ($5.50), piloted by Tasmania’s Chloe Wells, with the stablemates well clear at the 400m.
Turning for home, Spaceship, a four-year-old gelding by Invader, sped away with Cole’s $9 hope Whitten (Hampson) finishing strongly for second and Pollard’s $7.50 chance Meant For Mars, ridden by Alice Springs’ Lek Maloney, third.
With the final NARS leg at Doomben on Wednesday, SA leads with 37 points from the NT (31), Tasmania (25), WA (25) and Queensland (10).
Dakota Gillett also represented NT on Friday, while fellow Red Centre apprentice Ianish Luximon – a heat winner in Perth earlier this month – missed out when his two mounts were scratched.
Suspension sidelined Darwin’s Emma Lines, while Brooke Johnson represented Queensland.
Mahony rode track work on Friday to familiarise herself with Fannie Bay, and her WA coach was Peter Hall, the victorious jockey on Rob Gulberti’s Ihtsahymn in the 2019 and 2020 Darwin Cup.
Doyle, formerly of Alice Springs, celebrated her first Darwin win after Chole Baxter’s Swing With Junior ($6.50) made it two wins from its past three starts with a narrow win over 1200m (0-70).
Clarke claimed a winning treble with six-year-old mare Bel Suono (Jarrod Todd) saluting for the stable at the 11th attempt over 1100m (0-58), while seven-year-old gelding Desert Dreamer (Aaron Sweeney) made it two wins from nine Top End starts over 1100m at open level.
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