GOING to a yearling sale is like taking a ticket in the lottery, but for Forbes trainer Phillip Thurston a trip to New Zealand four years ago has provided him with two winning tickets.
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Thurston and his wife Denise bought two fillies at the sale that year.
One was last year's Red Ochre Mares Classic winner Freedom Is. The other was Bon Accord Gal, the $2.50 favourite for this year's $30,000 feature at Dubbo Paceway on?Friday.
Victory by the five-year-old Elsu (NZ) x Rejoicing (NZ) mare would provide the Thurstons and Goulburn-based driver Brad Hewitt with a unique double.
"It would be nice to win the Red Ochre again, because it's a race we think highly of," Thurston said.
"Looking back you don't really know what you're going to get when you go to the sales so if we were able to pull two Red Ochre winners out of the same sale it would be quite amazing."
Asked to draw comparisons between last year's winner and this year's favourite, Thurston admitted he has a slight leaning to Bon Accord Gal.
But that assessment comes with a caveat.
"Freedom Is is almost the perfect racehorse. She's got such a good nature, she tries hard and she has done a great job for us," he said.
"Bon Accord Gal probably has more raw ability but she has a few tricks up her sleeve as well.
"She's had some knee issues in the past but we've worked them out and I think she can go on to bigger and better things."
With a placing behind Miracle Mile placegetter Arms Of An Angel in a 1:50 mile rate under her belt, the step back in grade for the Red Ochre has seen Bon Accord Gal placed to advantage.
Her class was on display in her heat where, despite not running the quickest of times, she was able to sit three wide for the first lap, then park in the death seat and ultimately prove too strong for fellow finalists Happy To Go and Miss Rodriguez.
"I thought her heat was exceptional," Thurston said.
"She was first up, she was underdone and they made her work but Mat Rue got the job done nicely.
"After the race she pulled up well and has improved a bit so she should be hard to beat.
"Brad (Hewitt) wasn't available for the heat but he will be there for the final and he won on Freedom Is last year, so he knows what it takes to win this race."
PAST RED OCHRE WINNERS
2015: Freedom Is (David Hewitt/Brad Hewitt)
2014 Pas Ultimate Delight (Shane Tritton/Lauren Panella)
2013: Hirising (Steven Harris/Steven Harris)
2012: Miss Rockabella (Ashlee Siejka/Ashlee Siejka)
2011: Our Sixpence (Luke McCarthy/Luke McCarthy)
2010: Lady Peyton (Shane Tritton/Jim Douglass)
2009: Mandy Rambo (Michael Day Snr/ Michael Day Snr)
2008 Holmencontents (Matthew Harris/Matthew Harris)
2007: Sunnyside Lass (John Downey/John Downey)
