Far left: Cranbourne trainer Chris Parry teamed with experienced local rider Peter Mertens to take out the third race when Eightforall proved too strong for its rivals in the 1200-metre Maiden Plate on Sunday.By Brad Kingsbury
CRANBOURNE held its annual Christmas race day on Sunday with the day’s racing highlighted by victories to three locally prepared gallopers, together with a double to popular Cranbourne jockey Peter Mertens.
Mertens kicked off his successful afternoon by steering Chris Parry’s maiden runner Eightforall to the line in the third race and completed the double in the final race when Pakenham-trained gelding Very Fast saluted in the Country Showcase Class 1 event over 1600 metres.
The Ken Keys-trained Coolism made short work of his rivals in the fourth race, however Keys was not at the track to enjoy the win because he was busy saddling another stable winner, Blue Collar Jill, which took out her race at Traralgon.
The third Cranbourne horse to greet the judge was Fillies and Mares Handicap winner Kindrate, trained by Robbie Griffiths and ridden by apprentice jockey Nick Hall.
One of the biggest cheers of the afternoon was reserved for Sale galloper We Wonder, ridden to a thrilling fifth-race victory by Caulfield Cup-winning hoop Vlad Duric.
As he brought the lightly raced gelding back to scale, connections and stable staff gave Duric a rousing reception.
The day finished on a high after Pakenham horseman Julien Welsh saddled his promising young galloper Very Fast to win the Country Showcase Class 1 over 1600m.
The three-year-old gelding, whose owners include Melbourne Racing Club committeeman Ian Macdonald, scored its second career win from only eight starts when it proved too strong for a good-quality field.
Ridden to perfection by Mertens, Very Fast was in the box seated in third position during the event and then snatched a winning four-length break early in the home straight, holding off favourite Abramovitch to score by just under a length.
As their horse crossed the line, the excitement of Welsh, his assistants and the extended connections was infectious, and Macdonald, who bred the horse at his Harkaway property, said it was as good as any race win.
“I’ve had some very good horses and won some very good races, but winning this Country Showcase at Cranbourne with a fellow like Julien is as good as it gets,” he said.
“It’s really what racing is all about. Being at the track with your family and friends and enjoying the thrill of watching one of your own horses produce a run like that is just tremendous.”
The next meeting at Cranbourne will be held on Sunday 30 December with a relaxed holiday atmosphere and good program of events expected.
