Yvonne scores three at Gawler
Wednesday
Jan Jones picked up the first winner of the Wednesday card, when her brindle bitch Champagne Please (Feral Franky x Dream A Little) made the most of some mid-race luck to claim a maiden victory. From box five she was supported in early betting, but her followers wouldn’t have been overly pleased to see her leave the boxes slowly and settle a few lengths off the leader. After settling quite a way off in third on the rail, things weren't looking likely until the two leaders came together, which provided a great opportunity for Champagne Please to make plenty of ground. Capitalising on the trouble, she quickly went through to the lead on the turn and it was race over from there, as she strolled home in a handy 23.28.
Kevin Bewley enjoyed a fantastic day at Gawler, landing an afternoon treble for the afternoon. Enticement got the ball rolling with a slick all-the-way win in a handy 22.90, before Casino Rose took out the race after with a super impressive 22.77 victory from box seven over the short trip. With two winners already on the board, it was time for Chuckles to line up over the 531m journey, with an awkward box five draw to contend with. After jumping well, he was given plenty of room to muster and with that he worked his way to a healthy lead coming out of the first turn. Around the home turn and into the straight he was still holding a margin but starting to get quite tired. It was close late but Chuckles held on in 31.26 to give Bewley the treble.
Another trainer to enjoy a big day on Wednesday was Yvonne King who also picked up a treble. Quite uniquely, the three winners all came from the last three races of the day. Allinga Molly was the first and she simply dominated from box two over the 400m trip. After jumping quickly with an 8.66 first split, she was travelling beautifully in front, before winning untroubled in 22.75. Allinga Grin was next and she did something that she doesn’t often do, which was come from off the lead to win. After settling in second from box seven, she was trying hard before the run came on the turn and she scooted through to the lead and won in 22.86. Allinga Ollie made the most of box one to complete the trio, winding back the clock to prove too speedy from the 400m trip. He jumped well and led, before proving too hard to catch and winning in 22.95. A good day out for Yvonne and the team!
Friday
Two heats of the Gawler Future Stars were the showcase for the Friday card and they certainly threw up some strong races. Oh Louise for Tim Richards took out the first heat and followed up her effort on Monday night with a strong 30.73 victory before the Richard Stasiak-trained Elegant Bix showed his very best to win his heat. From box one, Elegant Bix started a close second favourite behind the flying Coorong Cam. When the boxes opened, Elegant Bix was led comfortably and needed to do a bit of work. With a few lengths to make up down the back straight, he was slowly starting to make ground, before getting even closer in the home straight. It got desperate late, but Elegant Bix dived late and got there, winning in a sizzling best of the day 30.61. It should be a great final next week!
Hot Rocks has been a fantastic and honest chaser his whole career and on Friday he got himself back on the winner's list. Having his second start since returning from a four-month spell, he was initially led out of the boxes but showed his race smarts to avoid some trouble in front and push his way through to the lead. After shooting away midrace, he was never going to get caught and won terrifically in 22.90. That was his first win since August last year so it has been a good effort from him and his trainer Marcello Calicchio.
Maestro Luke continued his great return from a spell with a strong victory over the 531m trip for the last race of the day. After leaving the boxes well enough, he cost himself a couple of lengths whilst bumping a dog underneath him. He found the lead coming out of the first turn but was outpaced mid-race. Despite this, he kept chasing hard and started to close in on the leader coming into the straight. It took every inch of the Gawler straight but Maestro Luke just did enough and got up in the last stride, landing a strong 30.77 victory.