Lake Lugarno confirmed her status as one of the region’s most exciting sprinters on Friday when she powered to victory in the Wellington Motor Inn Benchmark 60 Handicap (1000m).
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Conditions were near-perfect for Wellington’s eight-race meeting, which was conducted on a track rated a Good (3).
The Barry Molloy-trained Lake Lugarno provided one of the day’s highlights, scoring by four-and-a-quarter lengths in the day’s third event.
After winning back-to-back races at Narromine and Wellington, the Forbes galloper returned in search of a hat-trick and apprentice jockey Chris Williams, who claimed three kilograms on the top weight, got the warm $1.90 favourite to the lead early and then blitzed the rest of the field down the straight.
“She’s a class mare and I just rode her like that and put her where she’s comfortable,” Williams told Sky’s Thoroughbred Central after the win.
“They wanted to take a sit but she got there (to the lead) pretty easy and she was comfortable and I got her through the gears and she got home strong.
“She’ll be able to step and go further and go on with it.”
Dubbo trainer Garry Lunn scored a second-placed finish behind Lake Lugarno, with Oskastar ($13, Rasit Yetimova) scoring his third placing in three starts this preparation.
All three of his runs this time out have come at the Wellington track. Emerton ($21, Michael Hackett) was a head back in third.
It was one of two wins for Williams after he had earlier won the Boxing Day Races at Wellington Maiden Plate (1100m) with So Joyous ($4.20).
The David Smith-trained mare was coming off a disappointing ninth placed-finish at Muswellbrook last start but she showed what she was capable of at Wellington, scoring by a comfortable one-and-three-quarter lengths from Strategy Right ($31, Rasit Yetimova) and Flight Risk ($6.50, Leanne Henry).
Another to score an eye-catching win at Wellington was the Luke Hilton-trained Mi Estilo.
The mare had shown plenty of promise without scoring a win in the first four career starts and she managed to break through on Friday courtesy of another Mathew Cahill masterclass.
Few jockeys can ride the Wellington track as well Cahill and in the Statewide Sheds Maiden Handicap (1400m) he settled down third onboard Hilton’s four-year-old. As the field worked its way down the renowned Wellington hill, Cahill worked his way forward along the inside and entered the straight in second place.
From there, the classy mare eased to the front and cruised to a half length win over Espresso Martini ($4, Ken Dunbar) and Shake Off (Leanne Henry, $10).