PUNTERS cheered Kempsey jockey Terry Treichel’s third win in seven races on Port Macquarie gelding Laurentian at Taree Wingham Race Club’s.
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It capped off not only a rare winning treble for Treichel, but also gave Port trainer John Sprague his ninth winner in nine weeks, Laurentian making it back-to-back wins in only two starts for him at Taree since coming from Warwick Farm.
The three-year-old gelding was bought for $7500 by Lesley and Peter White about two months ago because it was deemed not up to city class.
At its first run at Taree Laurentian did a few things wrong, Treichel also momentarily losing an iron at the jump, when it scored by just over four lengths and with another show of speed it then scored by 1.5 lengths in the Taree Cup Weekend—August 19 and 21 Benchmark 55 Handicap over 1000m.
The owners are on cloud nine with a cheap buy which has earned prizemoney and BOBS bonuses of $26,000.
Punters backed Laurentian from $4.60 to $2.40 with bookmakers on June 3 when it first scored and this time the gelding firmed from $4 to $2.50 in beating two of Port trainer Neil Godbolt’s charges, Dos Santos ($7,2nd), with .75 lengths to Poet’s Trick ($15).
Godbolt and Treichel combined two races earlier in the New Membership Year Fillies & Mares Class 1 Handicap over 1300m to have a long neck win with consistent three-year-old filly Holy Weeva, another BOBS bonus galloper, which was also the medium of a betting plunge ($5.50 to $3.50).
It was a good effort in scoring in a blanket finish as the mare was three and four-wide after coming from an outside barrier.
“She has some heart..she tries and should have probably won another four races but for drawing badly,” Godbolt said.
Treichel’s other win was on six-year-old gelding Do I Know You ($3 to $6), trained at Kempsey by David Irving, which was only having its third start for nearly two years in the Welcome Thomas Miscannon 4YO’s & Upwards Maiden Handicap over 1300m.
“When it can lead, it is hard to beat,” Irving said of the front-running tactics employed by Treichel on his gelding.
Biggest shock of the day for punters, but not for 82-year-old Newcastle trainer Charlie Porter, was the half-length win of $17 chance, eight-year-old gelding Loading, having its 102nd start,in the Taree Cup Prelude Day-August 11-Benchmark 60 Handicap over 1600m.
“He (Matt Bennett) rode my horse like a champion,” Porter said.
He doesn’t underrate the honesty of Loading,the winner of seven races, with 22 placings and prizemoney over $130,000, saying the win total should be around 20 but for bad luck and bad rides.
“He has been a good horse to own and has never had a bandage on him.”
Other winners were four-year-old Gosford mare Cantear ($4), trained by Gregory McFarlane and ridden by Paul King, in the Winning Post Function Centre Maiden Plate over 1000m; Shining Brooke ($3.60), trained at Newcastle by Kris Lees and ridden by Andrew Gibbons in the Mid Coast Automotive Group 3YO Country Plate over 1400m and Mr Bonjove ($7) from the Fairhall Park stable of Larry Fairhall and ridden by Peter Graham in the XXXX Gold Entires & Geldings Class 1 Handicap over 1300m.
Taree Wingham Race Club will conduct another TAB meeting at Bushland Drive Racecouse on Monday, July 4.