As the younger brother of one of the region’s most successful trainers, the press-ure was on Blair Hurst on Wednesday night when he lined up in race one at Dubbo Paceway on board favourite Getaloadaher.
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In the gig for brother Nathan, Hurst started the $3000 Wheels On Bourke Pace (1720 metres) as the $2.10 favourite and he didn’t disappoint as he led for the majority of the race and comfortably crossed to record his first victory.
“It feels good; it’s a bit of a relief,” the Eglinton-based reinsman said after the race.
“I haven’t been driving for that long so it’s good to get the first one out of the way.”
There was a scare early in the race as Chevals Smile fell with Lester Hoy on board while rounding the bend for the first time, but both escaped without injury.
Hurst avoided the spill as he made his way to the front outside the Kelvin Winnell-trained Itz The Promised One ($18.50) and by the time they moved up the back straight for the first time, Getaloadaher was already in front and in control.
By the time the field heard the bell for the final lap, Hurst was in front by five metres and, despite the best efforts of Anthony Winnell on Itz The Promised One, he crossed the line first in the time of 2.09.72 while Itz The Promised One was four metres further back.
Hurst admitted he was excited to notch up his first career win with the five-year-old mare, whose last victory came back in October last year.
After getting to the front early, Hurst had little to do for the rest of the trip and even had time to salute the healthy crowd in attendance as he passed the post.
He said everything fell into place perfectly.
“That was always the plan – if I could get to the front then she’d be pretty hard to beat – and it worked well,” he said.
“She did a really good job, so I’m stoked. She did really well for me.”
The younger Hurst just missed out on his first win at Cowra two weeks ago when, ironically, it was his brother who pipped him at the post by a half-head. Blair was on board Getaloadaher that night as well.
He said he enjoyed working with his brother and reiterated how good it felt to cross the line first.
“It’s been good. It’s a real relief to win, especially with her being favourite,” he said.
“We’ve got a big team and it’s good to start the night off on a winning note.”
