Trainers Chris Pollard and Phil Cole, along with apprentice jockey Emma Lines celebrated winning doubles on Darwin’s six-race card on Saturday.
27/5/23 Darwin Race 1 Replay – Brimarvi Rooboy (1st)
Pollard won the first race when Brimarvi Rooboy ($1.65 fav) won over 1300m (0-64) before taking out the final event with Go Bundle ($26) over 1600m (0-58).
That made it 11 wins for the season for Pollard, who now sits fifth in the Top End and Country trainer’s premiership behind Gary Clarke (35), Cole (25), Tayarn Halter (18) and Tom Logan (16).
For Brimarvi Rooboy, a six-year-old gelding, it was back to back wins after saluting by seven lengths on May 6 over 1300m (0-58) and his record for Pollard now stands at six wins from 24 starts after three wins from 18 SA starts for trainer Paul Seater.
With Lines claiming 3kg, Brimarvi Rooboy settled in front on the fence and had Kerry Petrick’s Kikuyu (Paul Denton) for company as Kevin Lamprecht’s Ginger Creek (Jade Hampson) and Logan’s Malibu Edition (Sonja Wiseman) made up ground exiting the back straight.
Turning for home at the 300m, Brimarvi Rooboy kicked clear and with 200m to go it was all over with the son of Host winning by four lengths from Alice Springs visitors Kikuyu ($11) and Ginger Creek ($5.50).
27/5/23 Darwin Race 6 Replay – Go Bundle (1st)
Go Bundle, who raced for Seater and then fellow SA trainer Sam Burford before arriving in the Top End late last year, finally tasted success at Fannie Bay after nine attempts and had the bookies cheering with a barn-storming victory to make it three wins from 26 starts.
Happy to sit behind the leading pack in sixth place along the back straight, the five-year-old gelding was relegated to seventh down the side at the 500m – but Wiseman remained patient behind the wheel.
Entering the home straight there were plenty of chances as Ella Clarke’s Cisalpine (Todd) held sway in front on the fence, but he was tiring and started drifting across the track after sharing the early lead with Pollard’s Miss Epernay and Halter’s I’m A Dreamer.
Cole’s Floreat Pica (Wayne Davis), who was camped in fourth place along the rails for a major portion of the race, found space in the home straight and set sail after Cisapline as Go Bundle, yet another son of Host, stormed home down the outside.
Go Bundle got there in the end to edge out Floreat Pica ($11) by 0.2 lengths with Cisalpine ($3.10 fav) 0.4 lengths away in third place, and for Wiseman it was her first NT win since Darwin’s Anzac Day meeting.
Wiseman (29) continues to lead the Top End and Country jockey’s premiership from Todd (26).
No doubting who the leading apprentice is with Lines (12), who now sits fourth overall in the premiership with Casey Hunter behind Wiseman, Todd and Davis (13), skipping clear of Hampson (8).
27/5/23 Darwin Race 5 Replay – Laylah’s Wish (1st)
Missing last Saturday’s meeting after attending a music festival, Lines sealed her second win after getting four-year-old mare Laylah’s Wish ($6.50) home for Cole, who is her master, in a 1000m maiden after hitting the front at the 900m and never relinquishing the lead.
Winless in 13 previous starts in Queensland and the NT, the daughter of The Factor was placed four times in nine starts for Cole before finally celebrating success.
Laylah’s Wish led comfortably off the back, down the side and in the home straight, but with 200m to go she began to wilt before holding on to overcome Petrick’s $11 hope Old Mate Smithy (Denton), who wound up as from the 700m, by half a length with Halter’s $8 betting site chance Madame Romanov (Hampson), who was never far away throughout the contest, third.
27/5/23 Darwin Race 4 Replay – Cielo D’Oro (1st)
There were only four starters in the $22,500 feature race over 1100m (BM76), but the honours went to Cole when Davis pulled off a daring ploy aboard six-year-old gelding Cielo D’Oro ($2.60 fav), the son of Medaglia D’Oro.
Sitting behind stablemate Cyclonite (Vanessa Arnott) and Chris Nash’s Ideas Man (Mark Pegus), Cielo D’Oro had another stablemate in the shape of Little Town Blues (Lines) for company before Davis cut loose once exiting the back straight.
By the 600m, the former Victorian galloper had swooped on the leaders and was full of running approaching the final bend before finding the fence and skipping clear with 300m to go.
The contest was over at the 200m with Cielo D’Oro, who had four wins from 21 starts in Victoria including two wins at Moonee Valley for Tom Dabernig and Ben Hayes, making it three wins from nine Darwin starts.
Cielo D’Oro, who has never missed the first four for Cole since debuting in the tropics last August, won by 4.7 lengths easing down from Cyclonite ($5.50), formerly of Alice Springs, and Ideas Man ($2.70).
27/5/23 Darwin Race 3 Replay – Swing With Junior (1st)
Chole Baxter’s five-year-old mare Swing With Junior (Hampson) made it back to back wins over 1200m (0-70) after toppling 0-70 opposition by three lengths over 1300m three weeks ago.
After 200m on Saturday, Swing With Junior ($3.60) was hugging the fence as Petrick’s New Roman (Denton) held a narrow lead out in front and little changed before Halter’s Canton Kid (Paul Shiers) and Logan’s Blueberry Boy (Wiseman) joined the party at the 400m.
It was at that point that Hampson made her move along the rails with the daughter of Warhorse kicking clear once straightening at the 300m before positing an emphatic three length win from Canton Kid ($7.50) and Blueberry Boy ($2.40).
Swing With Junior had two wins in Darwin for Victorian trainer Kym Hann in June and July last year before joining the Baxter stable where she has now had eight starts – her career record now stands at 6-6-1-3 from 29 starts.
27/5/23 Darwin Race 4 Replay – Doc O’Connor (1st)
It was one-way traffic when Gary Clarke’s $1.30 favourite Doc O’Connor (Todd) decimated fellow three-year-olds over 1100m (BM57) to make it two wins from three starts at Fannie Bay.
The son of Lonhro jumped well and led from Patrick Johnston’s Gotta Beat (Hampson) and John Peacock’s Heroic Spirit (Hunter) before Lamprecht’s Iknowhatyouredoing (Pegus) clicked into gear as the field farewelled the back straight.
With 400m to go, Doc O’Connor (62kg) looked a million dollars with the gelding pinching a winning lead once entering the home straight before overcoming the fast-finishing Iknowhatyouredoing ($8.50) by 2.5 lengths with Heroic Spirit ($14) 2.7 lengths adrift in third place.
Doc O’Connor had six starts for the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace stable in Victoria for a win on Ballarat’s synthetic surface and a second at Morphettville Parks before a winning debut in the NT in March.
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