HE was forced to face the breeze for much of Wednesday’s Club Menangle Where Horses Fly Heat (1,730 metres), but Grosestar still had enough left in his legs when it came time for the final sprint.
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When driver Mitch Turnbull asked him to give at the top of the straight at the Bathurst Paceway, Grosestar responded and booked himself a spot in next month’s final as he won by a neck.
It was the first win in eight months for the Rock N Roll Heaven x Free Hand horse and outside of trials, his maiden win on his home track.
“He’s a bit of a doer … tonight he just had to get up there in a big field, it was a good race,” Turnbull said.
“Tonight he was ready to go and he just kept going.”
Though he had not previously won at the Bathurst Paceway, the four-year-old did produce a handy run earlier in the month when third in another Where Horses Fly Heat.
On that occasion Grosestar worked forward early to take the lead, surrendered it mid-race, then made his final challenge down the sprint lane to grab third. It saw him start as the $1.70 favourite on Wednesday.
Turnbull again used Grosestar early from his barrier 12 draw, being guided three-wide, but things played out differently from there.
Write About Her won the start from her inside draw, showing enough speed to hold off Layby Lanny who then settled one-out and one-back for Bernie Hewitt.
Behind them Grosestar made up ground, and into the front straight he had moved up into the death seat outside Write About Her. With 650m to travel there was just three-quarters of a length in it.
With a 60.1 seconds split for the first half of the last mile, Grosestar had done plenty of work, but Turnbull then got a break.
Todd McCarthy urged Write About Her to up the tempo and in doing so, pulled away from the trailing Zaras Dance. Turnbull was able to drop in behind the front runner and it proved crucial.
Turnbull then came off Write About Her’s back and took the lead into the straight. He was challenged in the run home, but held on to beat Sophie Brown ($8.80) by a half neck with Im Okay, who had come from last, a half-head further back in third.
“He did a fair bit of work early, I was lucky to get a bit of a breather at the 1000, we got a bit of a breather behind Todd’s,” Turnbull said. “But at the top of the straight I was able to bring him home.
That Mitch Turnbull drive was the first leg of a winning treble for his father and trainer Steve Turnbull.
Steve Turnbull took out the Club Menangle Country Series Heat (1,730m) with Shandance $4.90, then steered Lets Pop The Bubbles ($2.50) to victory in the Town and Country Rural Supplies Pace (1,730m).