Cook's celebrates maiden city success
Pintoff's win in the $150,000 Rod Griffiths Handicap has issued Carly Cook with a new challenge, but one that she will embrace.
The Geelong trainer celebrated her maiden city winner when the six-year-old formerly trained by Richard Cully survived a late burst from Hello Broadcast to score a narrow win the 1000-metre event.
It was the Toorak Toff gelding's first start for Cook, who is used to trying to find the most suitable maiden or benchmark 58 country races for her small team of seven, and she said she could easily get used to targeting races such as Saturday's.
"It's new for me to have a horse given to you with that ability, they don't come every day," Cook said.
"We took 58-raters to Cranbourne last night and maideners. I'm just trying to build a better stable.
"We were probably looking at (running at) Flemington in a couple of weeks…but this might change that."
Cook, who started training in Northern Territory, has been based in Victoria since 2015 and has now trained 21 winners from 280 runners.
Pintoff's record now sits at seven wins from 16 starts with Saturday's $82,500 winner's cheque taking his career earnings to $377,700.
Maher/Eustace double up
At the other end of the scale, Victoria's most dominant metropolitan stable enjoyed a day to remember with Ruthless Dame's Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes win complemented by a Sandown double.
After winning the fillies and mares' benchmark 78 with Unusual Culture, Maher and Eustace produced Chassis to score an upset win under Carleen Hefel in the final race of the day.
The Sandown double gives them 78 Victorian city wins for the season, 29 more than nearest rival, Peter Moody.
Purcell in Dashing form after big week
Aaron Purcell, like most of Warrnambool's racing fraternity, can take a few days to get over the Warrnambool May Racing Carnival.
And the Warrnambool horseman was within his rights to have celebrated the week, having trained two winners – including the last one of the week, Pythagoras – and placegetters in both the Grand Annual Steeplechase and Galleywood Hurdle.
Whether it is being a hardened campaigner, or more responsible these days, Purcell is not sure, but he found himself eagerly anticipating the celebrations that were a chance to ensue after Dashing's win in the $150,000 Selangor Turf Club Handicap at Sandown.
"This is the best I've pulled up on a Saturday after May (Carnival) for years," Purcell said.
"It can be a bit of a marathon, Warrnambool, so this is really good.
"We had a couple of winners and a couple of feature placings, the horses all ran well and the team's put a lot into it so for them to all to get rewarded as well is a big part of it."
Dashing's win atoned for three-straight minor placings and took his career record to three wins from 14 starts.
Brideoake's Journey continues
Good Journey's days covering mares are done, but the Group 1 stallion might have unearthed one last stable star for Mornington trainer David Brideoake.
End Journey announced herself on the city stage with a dashing win in the $150,000 Rod Fenwick Handicap (1000m).
The 1-3/4-length win made it two wins from as many starts for the three-year-old, who got her career off to the perfect start at Cranbourne on April 14.
Brideoake's first two Group 1 winners – Grand Journey and Griante – came via Good Journey, which prompted him to stand Good Journey as a private stallion for his final two seasons – 2020 and 2021, when covered nine mares in total – and Brideoake is glad to have another talented one in his care.
"She's probably just about the end of the Good Journeys and he's been a good horse for me, a good stallion," Brideoake, who now trains in partnership with Matt Jenkins, said.
End Journey is out of the Street Sense mare Street Blaze, who never got to the races, but is also the dam of six-time winner Royal Mile (Danerich), who is a dual Stakes winner in South Australia.
Lo holds on in Gauci's race
Given the third race on the Sandown card was named in honour of Darren Gauci, it was only fitting that the 1000m event was won by the leader.
Gary Lo ensured that was the case with a centimetre-perfect ride aboard Our Heidi in the benchmark 78 event for fillies and mares.
Gauci, arguably Australia's greatest ever apprentice, went on to craft a reputation as a champion rider of front-runners and was on hand to welcome Lo back to the winner's stall after the race.
The result atoned for a near-miss at Our Heidi's previous start when she turned for home with a sizeable lead onto be run down in the shadows of the post and trainer Phillip Stokes was full of praise for Lo's performance.
"She just got found out over the 1200 here last start, but Gary gave her a nice ride in front and I'm rapt for him. He's getting a good affiliation with this mare," Stokes said.
The victory was Lo's second in Melbourne aboard Our Heidi, having registered his first Victorian metropolitan success aboard the Needs Further four-year-old two starts earlier at The Valley.
