Gunnedah horse trainer Gavin Groth was the only trainer or jockey to achieve more than one victory at the annual Christmas Hams race day, held at Riverside Racecourse last Saturday.
Groth trained the winning horse in the first and final races, with his first winner on the day being the favourite before his second winner was a rank outsider which won by a tiny margin.
Four other trainers and six different jockeys had one win apiece.
The first race was the only one of the six races to be won by the favourite, while Bendemeer-based trainer Jane Clement trained the winning horse in the feature race.
Four of the races had a margin of less than one length between the winner and runner-up, while the other two races had a decisive gap between the top two placegetters.
On a track rated a Good 4, the Groth-trained and Ben Looker-ridden Lucky Ozzie beat the second favourite by 0.9 of a length in the opening race which was 1300m and contained a field of seven.
Groth said it was beneficial for Lucky Ozzie to be in barrier three, involving starting from an inside gate.
Groth said the combination of the inside gate, home track and jockey made for a good result, although the victorious trainer said he didn’t like watching when one of his horses was the favourite.
Groth said he had “lost count of the number of times” he had a favourite which didn’t live up to expectations.
Race two was the feature race, which had a field of nine while the distance was 1600m.
The Groth-trained Accrue was in the lead for much of the time before finishing second-last while being the second favourite.
The Clement-trained and Bronte Simpson-ridden Awesome Tycoon was in the top three for most of the time, and then beat the favourite by half a length. While the triumphant horse was the fifth favourite, the runner-up came from eighth place to be in sight of snatching the glory.
The favourite in race three finished runner-up to the third favourite, as this race was 1000m while there were 10 runners.
The Sue Grills-trained and Jenny Duggan-ridden Cosmic Bling won by 0.73 of a length after being in fourth place at the 400m and 800m stages.
Races four and five were won by the second favourite, while the margin between first and second was more than four lengths each time.
The Scott Singleton-trained and Ella Drew-ridden It Stays In Vegas won race four, which had a field of seven while the distance was 1000m.
Race five was won by the Melissa Dennett-trained and Grady Spokes-ridden Winged, featuring a field of nine while the distance was 1250m.
For the record, the Groth-trained and Leeshelle Small-ridden Pop Quiz placed last in race five before the Groth-trained and Small-ridden Powerstone won the next race in heart-stopping circumstances.
The equal-eighth favourite in a field of 10 while the distance was 1000m, Powerstone was almost neck-and-neck with the favourite before the rank outsider scraped home by a mere 0.07 of a length.
Groth consequently finished with two wins in addition to a fifth, two eighth and two ninth placings, with one of the ninth placings also occurring in the final race.
Groth said he was over the moon with Powerstone’s victory, which he rated as the best win so far for the eight-year-old mare.
With Powerstone having been in barrier 10 – the widest gate – Groth said “the job was a lot harder” while “it was a tough win”.
Powerstone’s starting price was $31 while the favourite and runner-up had a starting price of $3.30, with Groth saying wins like this one were “the best ones, when you’re not expecting it”.
“There’s no pressure in that situation,” he said.
Groth said he watched the race very closely, particularly in the dying stages.
“She (Powerstone) was trying so hard (and) just wouldn’t let the other horse pass her,” he said.
Meanwhile another Gunnedah trainer, Sally Torrens, gained three third placings as she had eight runners on the day.
