Cranbourne galloper Lord Benbara, trained by Tony Rosolini, salutes the judge in the fifth race at Pakenham Racing Club on Monday. Rosolini was one of six Cranbourne trainers to score a victory.Above: Jockey Dale Smith is all smiles after booting Lord Benbara to an easy victory.
By Glen Atwell
CRANBOURNE gallopers stole the show at Pakenham Racing Club’s final meeting of the year.
The eightrace card, transferred from Sale, provided local trainers with some muchneeded Christmas money as Cranbourne talent scooped the pool, winning six major prizes.
After Rick Harrison’s Pakenham galloper She’s A Blast ($9.70 TAB) saluted in the first race, it looked like the home track runners would dominate the day.
But Harrison proved to be the only Pakenham winner of the meet.
Cranbourne trainer Allan Williams scored with promising gelding Pride ‘n’ Talaq ($1.30 TAB) in the second race.
It was Pride ‘n’ Talaq’s maiden victory after six starts and four seconds, which included a narrow loss to recent Ballarat winner Leonardo at a Moonee Valley night meeting earlier this month.
The punters did not miss out and pushed Pride ‘n’ Talaq into unbackable odds.
Robbie Laing won race three with Rough Night ($2.10 TAB) and Tony Rosolini and Nevin Eades continued to fly the Cranbourne flag in the fifth and sixth races.
Eade’s sixyearold gelding Ryobiton ($4 TAB) is definitely one to watch this preparation, having won two of his last four starts, running second on the other two occasions.
In the last two races, Leigh Childs scored with Effects ($4.60 TAB) before Robbie Griffiths added his name to the winning trainers’ list with topweight High Intensity ($2.90 TAB).
Local jockey Peter Mertens steered High Intensity to victory, holding off a late charge from secondplace getter Bernieberg.
Pakenham Racing Club’s next race day is a picnic meeting on 1 January.
