Black Label too nippy for rivals
BLACK Label proved she is top shelf with a dynamic firstup win at Wingatui yesterday.
The Steve Tylertrained mare ran away from her rivals to post a seven and ahalf length maiden win in her seventh start.
The victory made the earlymorning trip from Masterton worth the effort for Black Label’s ownerbreeder, Dermot Fitzgerald.
After campaigning the 5yrold closer to home, Fitzgerald sent Black Label to Tyler as he had had previous success with Gold Label, another Per Incantosired horse he had bred.
Black Label has two starts for Tyler last autumn before being put aside.
The trainer described the horse as a tricky horse to train and one that had battled injury niggles.
Black Label’s owner and trainer have been patient waiting on their mare to work through those problems and it looks like they could be rewarded with another win soon as the mare should derive good fitness benefit from yesterday’s win.
The 5yrold’s victory was a bonus win for rider Kylie Williams who arrived at Wingatui not knowing that she would end up riding the horse.
She was a late substitution for Alysha Collett who was unable to attend the meeting because of illness.
One milestone was brought up and another closed in on at yesterday’s dualcode meeting.
Mauritiusborn jockey Gosen Jogoo went to 99 career wins with a winning double.
Like Kylie Williams, the 26yrold arrived at Wingatui without knowing he was to ride Richie Rox, the winner of race 2 on the thoroughbred card.
Gogoo replaced Krish Gundowry who was unable to make the horse’s weight.
Jogoo also rode Villa Elba to win race 4 for employers John and Karen Parsons.
The apprentice’s 99 career wins in New Zealand come from four years working with the stable after emigrating from Mauritius.
Harness racing trainerdriver Tim Robertson scored his first victory in a solo training capacity with Lady’s Lass yesterday.
Robertson, who works fulltime as a chef, had previously trained four winners in partnership with his father, Leith, who owns Lady’s Lass.
Lady’s Lass charged to the line defying the testing conditions that meant few harness horses made up ground on the slow Wingatui track.
The victory was Robertson’s fifth career win as a driver and his first since 2013.
Woodlands mare Overcast surprised her trainer, Alan Paisley, and driver Ellie Barron with her win in race 4 on yesterday’s harness card.
At her $5.20 odds, her tough trotting victory was not unexpected before the race, but it appeared Overcast had gone down in a close finish to the race.
Both Paisley and Barron looked pleasantly surprised when their trotter was announced the winner in a nose decision over Sunny Demon.
Overcast has now won three times on grass tracks in her past six starts.