Gunnedah horse trainer Sally Torrens had a triumphant time at last Saturday’s race meet in Armidale, as she had a winner and a runner-up in one race.
On a track rated a Soft 5, Torrens had a runner in each of the first, third and fourth races as well as two runners in the second race.
The opening race was 1400m before the next three were 1100m.
In the opening race, the Torrens-trained and Siena Grima-ridden Just Breathe was in second place for a while before finishing sixth in a field of eight, having been the third favourite.
The following race was the highlight for Torrens as the sixth favourite edged out the seventh favourite by just 0.2 of a length.
The Torrens-trained and Peter Graham-ridden Ready To Mingle led the race and finished marginally ahead of the Torrens-trained and Shannen Llewellyn-ridden Harsh Mistress, which recovered from sixth place to nearly steal the glory.
“One more stride or a couple more strides past the post, and she was in front,” Torrens later said of Harsh Mistress.
Torrens said she was watching which one was in front, and didn’t realise at first which other one was poking through.
Torrens said she was happy with the way it panned out, as it was the first time Harsh Mistress had run for her while there was some trial and error.
“A win’s a win. It’s good to get one,” she said.
Torrens said the tactics were different for the two jockeys, as Graham “was sent out to lead like he did” while Llewellyn “came out neutral and gave it an easy run, and finished off strong”.
In the next race, the Torrens-trained and Grima-ridden Keroessa placed eighth in a field of nine.
In race four, the Torrens-trained and Leeshelle Small-ridden Gold Smiles was in ninth place for a while before finishing third in the field of 11.
The Grima-ridden Spirit Of Pluto was in tenth position for much of the time, before achieving a stunning victory by 2.2 lengths.
Just as remarkably, trainer Todd Payne matched Torrens’s achievement of gaining first and second placings in the same race.
Two runner-up placings for Gavin Groth Gunnedah horse trainer Gavin Groth claimed two second placings as he had five runners in Monday’s races at Quirindi.
Groth’s runners were in races four, five, six and eight while the track was rated a Good 3.
Race six was 1450m while the other three were 1100m.
Having been a rank outsider in race four, the Groth-trained and Billy Cray-ridden Fort Jefferson finished runner-up to the favourite in a field of nine.
The margin was 1.3 lengths.
Groth also had a runner-up placing in the following race, as the Jake Pracey-Holmes-ridden Little Surprise finished 1.6 lengths behind the victor and favourite in a field of 10.
In race six, the Groth-trained and Cray-ridden Pampuni placed seventh while the Groth-trained and Mikayla Weir-ridden So You Knew was next in the field of nine.
The Groth and Cray combination was again involved in the final race, with Blue Steel coming seventh out of 10.
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