Lilly bounces back from draining drought drama
AFTER almost losing Lilly Kareena to severe dehydration last year, Cairns trainer Rhonda Inglis was happy to just get the mare back to the races – let alone win one.
The six-year-old did exactly that on Saturday afternoon at Innisfail, putting away the small field in the 1000m Open Handicap to put a smile on the Cannon Park trainer’s face.
Lilly Kareena is a mare that has shown plenty of promise in her 30 races before a spell in late 2018, and as the experienced trainer recalled, she was lucky to add to that number of starts.
“We had her out in the paddock spelling when we had all that hot weather and she decided not to drink for some reason,” Inglis said.
“Her whole stomach, she was just 100 per cent dehydrated and Ethan Maloney, our veterinarian, did a tremendous job for her to survive and get her back on track.
“It has been a long haul for her to get back on track, but she is there now and it is great see her produce what she is capable of doing.”
In the four-horse field to open racing at Pease Park on Saturday, Tablelands hoop Stephen Wilson guided the mare to a comfortable victory, beating home last-start winner Bon Temps by a length and a half.
“She has been knocking on the door, she was a little unlucky first-up at Townsville,” Inglis said. “Because of the track conditions lately, we have not been able to work the horses properly.
“But, it was a nice soft kill for her on Saturday at Innisfail.
“Stephen knows the horse inside and out now and it was great to see her get up and win.”
Inglis is likely to look towards another sprint race at the Cairns TAB meeting with the mare in just over a week.
Meanwhile, former Rockhampton-based gelding Our Boy Pendles was stylish in his first start in the Far North.
The Alan Pateman-trained gelding scored by two and a quarter lengths in the Ratings Band 0-65 Handicap (1200m) with 60kg on his back.
Our Boy Pendles made it two victories in a week for Pateman, after he went three years without one before that.