A cattle farmer and small-time trainer from a town close to the Queensland border racing at a TAB meeting for just the third time.
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A horse small in stature which had never raced over 1400m before.
And an apprentice jockey who had feared for his career last year when suffering a severe spinal injury.
It sounds like the stuff of an underdog sports movie but James Hatch, Stoneyrise and Jake Pracey-Holmes combined at Dubbo Turf Club on Sunday to take out the $150,000 Western Racing Association Country Championships Qualifier (1400m).
Hatch has only ever been to a race meeting in Sydney as a spectator but on April 1 he will now be saddling up Stoneyrise in the $400,000 Country Championships Final at Royal Randwick.
Hatch bought Stoneyrise for $7,500 at a Peter Milling Sale and Sundat marked the five-year-old’s seventh win in 15 starts.
First up from a spell, he sat deep early on, much as he always does, after jumping wide out from barrier 17.
Raging favourite La La Loopsy ($2) sat fourth early on as Garry Lunn’s Strathaird ($41) led Mark Jones’ pair Eagles Dare ($15) and Nordic Noir ($17).
Coming into the straight Stoneyrise ($10) was barely in the picture as La La Loopsy moved through the middle and seemed destined to reward the huge amount of punters who jumped on the five-year-old mare.
However, racing down the outside, Stoneyrise came flashing home, stealing the win by a length from La La Loopsy while Not For Export ($41) produced a fine run for third.