After missing the jump in Friday afternoon’s Southern Cross Austereo Maiden Plate (1280 metres) Ashleigh Stanley “fell a lot further back” than she wanted to, but with an imposing run still managed to power over the top of the field to salute on board Narrow Neck Nelson.
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Riding for her trainer-father Peter, the Bathurst hoop and her four-year-old just about shot out the back of the field, but recovered to push up toward the middle of the pack come the 600 mark.
Despite sitting three wide in that bid to recover and then being forced even wider at the final turn, the Stanleys’ gelding kicked hard 200 from home and ran over the top of the field to win the second of Racing Orange’s Tradies and Ladies Day program at 12-to-one.
It was ultimately a pretty easy win too, Gary Portelli’s Cortesta ($4.80) was a length-and-a-half back in second, with Edward O’Rourke and Michael Freedman’s Queens ($17) another length behind in third.
“Ashleigh rode him really well, even after she missed the start a bit,” Peter Stanley said.
“She didn’t panic at all, she just sat back and was patient, then got the job done.”
It was Narrow Neck Nelson's 10th start and his fifth at Orange, building on his solid form at Towac Park.
The four-year-old’s looked good in several of his runs at the track, particularly in a second finish in October and then a fourth a fortnight ago, so it came as little surprise he broke his maiden at Towac.
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Stanley said he’ll look for Class 1 for his gelding now, and suggested there’s plenty more wins around the corner for the big chestnut.
"That was his 10th start but he’s been learning all the way and he’ll win races, he’s bred to win races,” Stanley said.
“We’ll look for that Class 1 and I guess just wait and see if he climbs the ladder even further than that.”
Narrow Neck Nelson wasn’t the only central west-trained runner to impress in the opening races of Friday’s meeting, with Michael Plummer and Lee Van Den Bos running third and fourth in the very next race.
Plummer’s Pujols ($11) produced a solid run in the 1600-metre McSigns Maiden Handicap to finish third behind Scott Singleton’s Watch The Cat ($9) and Bjorn Baker’s The Seven Falls ($1.85 favourite), with Van Den Bos’ Cat Walk Queen rolling in fourth.
Ashleigh Stanley was on board the latter as well, backing up her win.
Bathurst trainers Don and Andrew Ryan came close to doubling the city’s success at the meeting when Annecy finished third in the JJ Gavin Benchmark 66 Handicap (1300 metres).
Annecy had to shoulder the top weight in her first up run but was only two lengths away from winner Loves A Hassle ($3.10) and Ready Set Sing ($7).
The Ryans’ mare flew home over the final 100m for the rear of the field to snag third place by a short half head over Blazing Beau.
Cowra’s Saturday meeting saw Dean Mirfin and Paul Theobald score placings with Kind Reward and Dunderry respectively.
Both Bathurst horses had similar results – finishing third but half a length after starting their respective races as favourites.
Kind Reward broke his maiden this preparation while Dunderry almost backed up after a home victory.
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Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
