In other races, five-year-old mare Till Then, ridden by Craig Kirkpatrick, won the second in emphatic fashion, taking out the 1008m sprint by two lengths. The third went the way of Dani Walker on board Wayne’s Command, the consistent six-year-old gelding holding off a late challenge by topweight I’m A Soldier to win by a length.
In the fourth, punters were treated to a classic contest between two of the most experienced jockeys at the picnics. Turning into the straight, Courtney Pace, on Here’s To A King, and Adam Bodey, on Spirit Eyes, left the rest of the field in their wake, hitting the line together in a nail-biting photo finish. After a tense delay, it was eight-year-old gelding Spirit Eyes who got the nod from the judge, further extending Bodey’s lead in the jockey’s premiership. In the last, punters were on the money with the heavily-backed favourite Vertigo, ridden by rising star Matthew Brown, proving too strong for the seven-horse field, dominating the race to win by three lengths. Matthew also brought up 15 winners and loses his 2kg claim.
|