Copper Trophy Race. Owen then backed up to ride his fourth winner of the day, Duke of Berat, in the next race.
Modest Hero dodged early trouble before winning the 1,700 metres DJW Cobar Picnic Cup on Saturday for Nyngan trainer Rodney Robb.
On the first turn local galloper The End veered off the track and caused severe interference to its stablemates First Defence and Teraset. The End dumped Jockey Alan Barton and escaped the racecourse.
Meanwhile, Modest Hero (ridden by Annelise King and paying 3.00 as the equal favourite) railed to the lead and thereafter wasn’t headed when beating the Allan Prisk, Cobar trained pair First Defence (Ricky Blewitt, 3.00 eq.fav) and Teraset (Billy Owen, 3.60).
Prisk, the only trainer at Cobar, had been a big help to the committee organising the inaugural Cobar Picnics and appropriately won the opening event, the MCA Maiden Plate,1000 metres, with Miashly.
The first of four winners at the meeting for Canberra jockey Billy Owen, Miashly (3.60) at start 31 broke through after nine minor placings when leading all the way to score by five lengths from Ultimate Joy (Annelise King, 3.80) and Would I Lie To You (Michael Gray, 3.00 fav.).
Trained between Bourke and the Queensland border by James Hatch, Stoneyrise, a recent Louth winner, was most impressive on Saturday at Cobar when winning the CSA Cobar Copper Open Handicap,1200 metres.
Getting around the leaders Kabloom and Barakula, Stoneyrise (Billy Owen, 4.20) accelerated to a five lengths win over Emerald Fortune (Ricky Blewitt, 3.20 fav.) and Barakula (Michael Gray, 6.00).
Lucky Cash ended a frustrating sequence of minor placings when winning a Maiden at Carinda and then backed up to win for Coonamble trainer Lindsey Kennedy.
With Billy Owen aboard, Lucky Cash (3.80) travelled outside the leader Bold Suggestion before taking control and beating Off The Bottom (Ricky Blewitt, 5.00) and Roseanna (Annelise King, 3.50 fav.) in the Landmark Russell Class B Handicap, over 1000 metres.
Making it four successive wins on the day for Owen, the Terry Fulwood, Narromine trained Duke Of Berat (9.00) took a rails run to overhaul Nipper’s Destiny (Alan Barton, 9.00) with Watta General (Michael Gray, 3.50) third in the Cynend Class B Handicap, 1,370 metres.—Col Hodges
