Trainer driver Tim Robertson got plenty of satisfaction from Miss Jessica’s win at Ascot Park today.
He raised the whip just after the finish line as the five year old trotting mare scored her second win in a career’s spanned thirty two starts.
“She just needed time to grow into her frame,” Robertson said.
He trains a small team of nine horses at his Makarewa stable with help from his father Leith.
“She (Miss Jessica) just does a lot of slow work, and a lot of it. Dad does most of the jogging and I do most of the fast work.”
A second placing three starts ago indicated Miss Jessica wasn’t too far away from getting her second win.
“She’s been working well all week and I was expecting a big run, but you can never be too confident with her because she makes up her mind on what she wants to do in that last 800.”
After getting away well Robertson had the mare handy early – either two or three back on the inside. Within the last 600 metres Miss Jessica was moved off the inside to challenge the leader Helluva Way. Turning in she took over the lead and held on to beat King Of The North by a neck.
It was Robertson’s seventh winning drive. His first was at Wyndham in April 2008 when Blue Eden jointly trained by himself and Leith won.
Robertson comes from a chefing background having worked at the Kelvin Hotel and Eat on Windsor.
“I left that about 18 months ago. I’m a truck driver in the morning delivering to the restaurant and I still do three shifts a week at the local restaurants just to give them a hand.”
Partner Anne-Maree Fulton and children Grace and Amelia were on-course today to see the win.
“It was good to have them here. They don’t normally come to the races.”
Racing Minister capped off some good form when he won his second race for Myross Bush trainer Doug McLachlan. He got up to beat Bunter’s Dream by half a length.
Auckland Reactor gelding Tiger Moth in only his third start for new trainer Lyndon Bond, won the R40-R45 Mobile Pace.
The six year old started his career with Bond’s uncle Graham.
Prince Envy which had been backed and beaten in his first two starts won his first race for Australian owners Merv and Meg Butterworth.
Trained at Ryal Bush by Brett Gray the five year old Majestic Son gelding lead for most of the trip for driver Nathan Williamson and bolted in, winning by seven and three quarter lengths from stable mate Peregrine which made up a stack of ground after breaking in the running.
Peter Hunter produced Glenledi Captain to win his maiden race. Taken straight to the front (where most Somebeachsomewhere progeny run well) the four year old was too strong for Leconte winning by six and a half lengths. Glenledi Captain’s stable mate Port Au Prince was a close third.
A big drop in class helped Whatwillbeewillbee win the main trotting race of the afternoon. He’s raced against better quality horses in his recent outings and led all the way for driver Jonny Cox to hold out a late run from Tweedledee.
The Wayne Adams trained Tulsa Jaccka came with a late run to nab El Dorado in the Level One Restaurant and Bar Mobile Pace.
This was her nineteenth start and third win.
by Bruce Stewart