IT was a case of second time lucky for Hotesse De Lair, who booked her spot in the final of the prestigious Star Trek Series with a win in the 2120m heat at Dubbo Paceway on Sunday.
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The Nathan Turnbull trained and driven mare caused a false start the first time the field was set to leave the mobile, but there were no such concerns from that point on.
From barrier two, Hotesse De Lair ($1.70 fav) didn’t have the pace to cross the pole marker Oozing Potential ($10.30), however Turnbull didn’t panic and allowed the mare to sit comfortably in the death seat.
Following a lead time of 38.0s, the first two quarters of the last mile were recorded in splits of 31.6s and 30.4s, and when the field reached the post for the penultimate time Turnbull released the brakes.
He allowed Hotesse De Lair to sprint from the 850m mark and she quickly put paid to Oozing Potential, who started to wilt.
Halfway up the back straight the Flightpath x Seafield Express mare had built a race winning lead and it was a battle for minor prizemoney only.
Merry Jasper ($6.10, Tom Pay) eventually ran on from back in the field to nab second, beaten 8.8m, while Bradness Buck ($11.40, Emma Turnbull) was a further 2.6m away in third place.
The overall time for the event was 2:39.8, with a mile rate of 2:01.3.
Sunday’s win took Hotesse De Lair’s career record to five wins and eight minor placings from 47 starts, and earnings in excess of $25,000.
The final of the Star Trek Series, which is worth $13,000, will be held at Bathurst this Friday evening.