SHANE Tritton says he loves the Bathurst Paceway and on Wednesday night the venue provided the Harrington Park trainer with a landmark moment in his career.
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The Bathurst Paceway is the venue where Tritton picked up the 1,000 win of his training career.
It was promising three-year-old Blue Moon Rising, with Tritton’s trainer-driver wife Lauren in the gig, who brought up the milestone by taking out the second 2,260 metres heat of the Star Trek series.
“We always look for achievements like these,” Lauren Tritton said.
“He works very hard and he’s very clever, if there’s anything wrong he’ll fix it.”
While Blue Moon Rising still had a job to do before he was declared victorious on Wednesday, most pundits considered his victory a mere formality before he even he stepped onto the track.
The Santanna Blue Chip x Lady Moonlight gelding was rated a $1.04 chance, with second elect Casino Tommy at $11.10. No other runner was below $30.
Going from barrier one, Lauren Tritton used Blue Moon Rising’s gate speed to make sure he secured front spot after the barriers folded.
Though both Bacchus Raucous (barrier six) and Casino Tommy (barrier seven) also made a strong start, after settling neither took on the favourite.
Casino Tommy took up position outside the leader, Bacchus Raucous sat one out and one back, while Kirra Kid was on the favourite’s back.
Tritton was able to amble Blue Moon Rising through a 50.2 seconds lead time, further strengthening his chances of success.
Mitch Turnbull did move up a little with Casino Tommy as the bell sounded to eyeball Blue Moon Rising, but halfway down the back straight the margin between the leading duo was two metres.
From there it only grew.
Peeling off a 28.2 third sectional saw Blue Moon Rising some eight metres clear as he balanced at the top of the home straight and while others battled behind him, at that stage the win was not in doubt.
Blue Moon Rising went on to win by 9.6m in a 1.59.3 mile rate to make it seven consecutive victories.
Chris Geary got Bacchus Raucous ($38.70) going wide on the track to take second place, while Kirra Kid ($31.80) narrowly beat home stablemate Casino Tommy for third.
The win earned Blue Moon Rising a place in next Friday night’s Star Trek Final and he will no doubt rank among the favourites for that decider.
“He did it really well, he didn’t get it as soft up front tonight,” she said.
“Ever since we’ve had this bloke we’ve thought he was pretty special.
“This fella is only a three-year-old, so you can’t go making declarations this early, but it’s a shame he’s not paid up for any of the big series as I think he could show everyone how good he really is. Hopefully he’ll get bigger and better from doing these races.”
The trainer has also indicated that he plans on contesting December’s Shirley Turnbull Memorial.