Smokin By masters start and Wairio Cup rivals
A testing introduction to standingstart racing was not enough to stop Smokin By from winning the Wairio Cup at Central Southland Raceway at Winton on Saturday.
The Mitchell Kerrtrained pacer entered the 2400m feature never having faced a standingstart tape on race day.
By the time he crossed the finishing line, bolting in by 61⁄2 lengths, he had seen it three times.
Kerr said there were a few nervous moments as he watched Smokin By deal with two false starts, before stepping away when the race finally got under way successfully.
The trainer could not have been happier with the way Smo kin By handled the scenario.
‘‘Every time there was a false start he kept getting better and better. I was just hoping that he would go away and he did.
‘‘That was probably the most pleasing part of the race, that he stepped so well. It just opens up a lot more races now he has shown he can step away.’’
Driver Nathan Williamson handled Smokin By patiently early in the race, then took him to the lead with a lap to run. The 4yrold scored an empathic victory in the smart time of 2min 58.8sec.
‘‘We will give him a threeweek break and bring him back and get him ready around MarchApril when a few of those nicer races are around,’’ Kerr said.
Smokin By’s victory sealed a winning double with Mach Three pacers for Kerr and Williamson as Zinny Mach also scorched to a frontrunning win in the race prior to the Wairio Cup.
It was the second successive win for the 3yrold, proving he is back to his best form after a rocky start to the season.
‘‘He lost his confidence bigtime — he got knocked over twice in the Sire Stakes heats,’’ Kerr said.
‘‘Now is he going like I knew he could.’’
Zinny Mach would have one more start in Southland before possibly being tested against the country’s best 3yrolds again.
‘‘He has a Nugget final down south next week and then he will be back up in Canterbury and we might tackle the bigger fish later on,’’ Kerr said.
His fellow Canterbury trainer, Mark Jones, bagged three winners. He was in the sulky behind maiden winners Barret and Rokohula Joe, and Sheree Tomlinson drove Michelle to a trotting victory to complete the training treble. — NZ Harness News