Cooee March, trained at Griffith by
Russell Hogan, and Late Return (from the Wayne Marsden stable at Menindee) have now qualified for the $50,000 Picnic
Championship Final at Dubbo after winning at the Cobar Picnic Races on Saturday.
With TAB coverage and being held at the Dubbo Gold Cup meeting next month, the final field of 12 will come from the leading point scorers over the Picnic Races circuit.
In an exciting finish to the 1,700 metres DJW Construction & Wells Ventilation Cobar Picnic Cup, Cooee March (Ashley Boyd, $3) came from fourth to overhaul Zartini (Angela Taylor, $2.50) which had raced well clear turning for home at the Cobar Races.
The winning margin was a short half
head with Rusty Motorbike (/Maddison Wright, $2.30 favourite) seven lengths away, third.
Late Return (Brent Evans, $6) contested the Landmark Russell Copper Sprint (1,200 metres) and ran home well from off the pace to score by over three lengths from Blue Channel (Maddison Wright, $3.20 fav.) and Collins Street (Caitlin King, $10).
Burdened with a massive 72.5kg after a 3kg allowance for Angela Taylor, the Mark Ward, Condobolin trained Gadfly ($6) finished strongly for fourth and will be favoured by a significant reduction in weight to carry under the set weights conditions for the Final at Dubbo.
Caitlin King travelled from Victoria to ride
at Cobar and led throughout on the John Tyack, Wagga Wagga-trained Sam ($2.50 equal fav.) to win the Class B Handicap (1,400 metres) from Scarpa (Maddison Wright, $2.50 eq.fav.) and She’s Pretty Zippy (Tim Grace, $5).
Grace, another jockey from Victoria, rode Miss Cleo for Cobar trainer Wayne Prisk in the 1,000 metres Sullivan’s Mining & Hardware Maiden Plate.
Miss Cleo ($4.40) led all the way and won by over four lengths from Orgetorix (Angela Taylor, $21) and She’s Sizzling (Maddison Wright, $2.40 fav.).
Prior to winning the Cup on Cooee March, Scone-based Ashley Boyd won the Cynend Building & Construction Class B Handicap (1,000 metres) on the George Wright Jnr. Parkes-trained Pullman Brown.
A last start Louth winner, Pullman Brown ($1.90 fav.) tracked the leaders at Cobar and finished best to win by a long neck from Nothing (Caitlin King, $7) and Work And Chat (Maddison Wright, $5).—Colin Hodges
