Win for Groth at Quirindi

Gunnedah horse trainer Gavin Groth enjoyed a breakthrough victory with Fort Jefferson, which won race five at Quirindi last Thursday.

The five-year-old gelding won by a comfortable margin of 3.1 lengths in a field of 13, as the distance was 1200m on a track rated a Good 4.

Having been the third favourite, Fort Jefferson was in eighth place at the 800m stage before finishing strongly while the favourite placed second.

After Fort Jefferson placed runner-up at the same venue 17 days earlier, Groth said his instructions for jockey Billy Cray were simply to “go one better than last time”.

Groth said the five-year-old gelding was drawn well and weighted well last Thursday, while the barrier draw was another factor after Fort Jefferson had raced wider on October 28.

“I was confident without being overconfident,” Groth said, as he stressed that one could never be too confident.

“If he kept that form from last time, I thought he’d do well.

“The way he won was really impressive.”

Groth said it had “taken a bit of time to work out his niches” as Fort Jefferson was more of a sprinter than a stayer and was better with short courses.

Groth’s other runner at Quirindi last Thursday, La Mia Via, placed fifth in a field of nine in race two as the distance was 1000m.

Groth said the six-year-old mare ran really well and that he was “tickled pink”, as it was La Mia Via’s first race after a 43-week spell.

Groth also had runners at Armidale on November 10 and 18, with the track rated a Good 4 on the former occasion and a Soft 5 on the latter occasion.

Pampuni finished last in a field of seven in a 1900m race, before Blue Steel placed seventh in a field of nine in a 1300m race with Cray as the jockey on November 10.

Eight days later, the Groth-trained and Jack Baker-ridden So You Knew placed seventh out of nine in a 1900m race on a rainy day.

Another Gunnedah trainer, Sally Torrens, had four runners at Quirindi last Thursday while her best placing was fifth.

While Groth had a fifth placing in the second race, the Torrens-trained and Shannen Llewellyn-ridden Saturday Glory placed eighth.

In race three which was 1200m, the Torrens-trained and Cobi Vitler-ridden Ready To Mingle was in second place at one stage before finishing last in the field of eight.

In the race featuring Groth’s first placegetter, the Torrens-trained and Llewellyn-ridden Harsh Mistress placed ninth.

Torrens had her best placing in race six which was 1000m, as the Llewellyn-ridden Hammoon Goddess placed fifth in a field of 10.