Gunnedah horse trainers Gavin Groth and Sally Torrens notched their first wins of 2025 earlier this week, with Groth tasting success at Gilgandra before Torrens enjoyed a victory at Tamworth.

Groth had three runners at Gilgandra last Sunday and one at Tamworth the following day, while Torrens had two runners at Tamworth after having a sixth placing at Muswellbrook four days earlier.

The Groth-trained Manor Road finished just 0.3 of a length behind the victor while placing second in a field of eight in race three at Gilgandra.

In the next race, the Groth-trained Injair placed first out of 11 before the Groth-trained La Mia Via came fifth out of 12 in race five.

Race four was 1280m on a track rated a Good 4, with Injair having its maiden win in its fourth start following a 22-week spell.

Groth said “we put a bit of weight on him” during the spell, and that Injair’s second placing in its first race after the spell “showed he was going to win one as soon as everything went his way”.

Injair was the favourite in last Sunday’s 1280m race, yet the gelding was in sixth place for a while.

Groth said Injair and the jockey, Mikayla Weir, deserved a lot of credit for finishing strongly.

“Approaching the bend, he (Injair) got shuffled back,” he said.

“She (Weir) was very patient.”

Groth said it might be another two or three weeks before Injair’s next race.

Torrens meanwhile said her winning horse, Live To Rise, would now have a spell.

Live To Rise’s win was also its maiden victory, albeit in only its second start.

Having placed first in a trial in Tamworth on November 27 and third in a race at Gunnedah on December 7, Live To Rise won by a mere 0.1 of a length on Monday.

The second favourite in a field of seven, Live To Rise edged out the short-priced favourite in a 1000m race on a Good 4 track.

Torrens said Live To Rise was pretty versatile and was a bit unlucky not to win at Gunnedah after drawing the outside gate.

Although the horse also drew the outside gate at Tamworth, Torrens said it was in a smaller field which made a difference.

Torrens said the initial plan was to “ride her back a bit”, but that the horse jumped to the lead and had learned a lot from its previous run.

“She’s just got genuine, natural speed,” Torrens said.

With a spell of a few months looming for Live To Rise, Torrens said, “She should come back experienced, refreshed and ready to go.”

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