Leonard Stewart celebrated a winning double on Sunday from the comforts of his home in Timaru, with Miss Miranda (NZ) (Time Test) and Vague (NZ) (Tobique) collecting each of the open handicaps at Ascot Park.
The pair were Stewart’s only runners at the meeting, with Miss Miranda taking her place in the Editor’s Cut Sports Bar Handicap (1200m) off the back of a narrow defeat to Tikki at Gore last month.
The daughter of Time Test showed her customary early speed, finding the lead under Samantha Wynne and running along at a strong tempo. Cruising into the home turn, it was going to take a big effort to run Miss Miranda down and her rivals were no match, the mare holding off the late-closing Industrialist and Rochello to win by three quarters of a length.
“I think she was in the right place, in the right field, with the right rider,” Stewart said.
“As long as the ground was reasonable, she was going to be tough. She can really run along and she does things right, and Sam seems to get along very well with her.”
Bred by Daniel and Elias Nahkle, Miss Miranda has put together a tidy record, with four wins and four minor placings from 16 appearances for owners Hoofbeat Ltd.
“We’re just going to let her cruise along and mature a bit more, I’ll try to pick out nice races for her,” Stewart said. “You go to Riccarton now and there are some very good horses up there.”
Two races later, Stewart and Wynne were back in the winner’s circle with evergreen mare Vague, who caused an upset winning the Ascot Sports Bar Handicap (2225m) as an outsider of the field.
The nine-year-old was coming off a sixth placing in the Wyndham Cup (2000m) and was initially taken back in Sunday’s contest, before Wynne found her position in the trail of Lovelock who had the field walking along the back stretch.
The race turned into a sit and sprint as they approached the home corner and Vague swept into contention, fending off the challenge of race-favourite Complicate to draw clear in the closing stages by over two lengths.
Once the tempo slowed, Stewart had been quietly confident that his mare would come right into play and he was rapt with the result.
“I started to laugh and I thought Sam might’ve fallen off laughing when the pace slackened and she was able to give her that breather,” he said. “They were playing right into her hands.
“She let the brakes go and once you turn for home with a bit of a break at Invercargill, they are hard to catch.
“She’s not happy in very heavy ground, so we’ll just take it as the ground conditions suit going forward, with suitable racing.”
A mare by Tobique, Vague is raced by Stewart’s granddaughter Lacy, who was on course at Ascot Park while the 92-year-old recovered from recent illness.
“I’ve just come out of hospital the other day, so I’m watching from home,” he said. “The girls will have a nice drive home.”
