Victorian jockey Liam Riordan might become a regular visitor to Tasmania after winning the Maiden Plate on Born A Winner at Mowbray on Wednesday night.
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Riordan, 25, said there wasn't much coming up for him in Melbourne in the next two weeks so he decided to renew a family association with trainer John Blacker.
"My brother rode for John and his family a long time ago," the jockey said.
"At this stage I'll be here for the first two night meetings and I'll see how things work out after that."
Riordan said Born A Winner enjoyed "a nice run three wide with cover" in a race where two of his rivals lost their riders in separate incidents.
"My horse did come off the bridle and crab around the corner a bit but he found the line well enough," the jockey said.
Blacker said Born A Winner had always shown promise and finished fourth in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic on debut.
"We then tipped him out and, after three runs this season on the synthetic, I thought he'd go good back on the turf," the trainer said.
"He's a big horse still growing and, if we look after him, I think he'll reward us down the track."
Born A Winner has rewarded connections quite nicely already as his breakthrough win was worth $31,000.
"He's picked up a Tasbred bonus and the stakemoney has gone up from tonight so everyone should be happy," Blacker said.
FILLY TO BE IN THE PINK OVER FURTHER
Wesley Vale trainer Glenn Stevenson believes looks are deceiving when it comes to his promising filly Piiink Beauty who will be aimed at feature races after a win in the other division of the Maiden Plate.
"She looks like a sprinter but I think she's a nice miler and we'll definitely be targeting races like the Thousand Guineas," Stevenson said.
"Whether she'll go any further, we don't know yet."
Piiink Beauty showed promise as a two-year-old when she was placed behind Bello Beau in both the Gold Sovereign and Elwick Stakes.
She resumed as a short-priced favourite at Spreyton on September 18 when she made a mess of the start and missed a place.
However she made good ground from the rear to be beaten only 2-1/2 lengths behind Nicco The Greek and punters were happy to follow up, backing her from $3.20 to $2.05.
Codi Jordan settled the filly in fourth place behind the free-running leader Sirene's Lilly and she finished off nicely to score in a four-way photo-finish.
QUILTY BOUNCES BACK FROM FALL
Victorian jockey Kiran Quilty was one of the two jockeys that fell in the second race but bounced back 35 minutes later with a win on outsider King Island in the 1400m Maiden.
Quilty got a split in the home straight on the former Victorian gelding to run down heavily-backed favourite Eagle Street and score by a short neck.
King Island is trained by Angela Brakey for Tasmanian racing historian Craig Kettle who works for her as a strapper.
"Craig bought the horse from Cranbourne and he came with a lot of issues," Brakey said.
"But we seem to have fixed those now and he stretched out really well."
King Island didn't race until he was almost six and finished unplaced at his only three starts in his home state.
He had two trials for Brakey before making his Tasmanian debut with a close fourth to Cyclone Louie at Spreyton 11 days ago.
PUNTERS TOAST McCOULL'S RETURN
Brendon McCoull showed he'd lost none of his strength during a long layoff when he lifted heavily-backed favourite Needs Toasting to a narrow win in the Rating 62 Handicap.
It was McCoull's first ride since May 29 after he took longer than originally expected to recover from knee surgery.
If punters were pleased to see him back, so was trainer Adam Trinder.
"It's been a long time and, although Troy Baker has filled the void really well, Brendon always has first call on our horses," Trinder said.
"We've had a long and successful association and hopefully it will continue for some time yet."
Trinder said Needs Toasting was due for another win and, although no star, was "a good bread-and-butter horse who will continue to give his owners a lot of fun.
"I was keen to get him back on the grass because, even though he's been racing well, he's a bit too heavy for the synthetic," the trainer said.
RESULTS
1- MAIDEN, 1200m: 2.05 fav PIIINK BEAUTY (G Stevenson, C Jordan) 1, 19.00 Sirene's Lilly (D Pires) 2, 61.00 Statue Of Dreams (K Quilty) 3, 31.00 Goes Like The Wind (R Tan) 4. Hd, sht 1/2 hd. 1:11.57.
2- MAIDEN, 1200m: 4.40 BORN A WINNER (J Blacker, L Riordan) 1, 15.00 Aussie Black (M Ulucinar) 2, 7.50 Milla's Ready (C Jordan), 4.80 Ole Ola (G Catania) 4. Len, hd. 1:11.54.
3- MAIDEN, 1400m: 20.00 KING ISLAND (A Brakey, K Quilty) 1, 2.80 fav. Eagle Street (D Pires) 2, 9.00 Ahzeezah (T Baker) 3, 8.00 Geegees Sunshine (T Johnstone) 4. Sht nk, 3/4 len. 1:25.26.
4- RATING 62, 1400m: 2.30 fav. NEEDS TOASTING (A Trinder, B McCoull) 1, 7.00 Berruti (S Carr) 2, 8.00 Gee Gee Can Win (T Johnstone) 3, 6.00 Ivoryman (D Pires) 4. Hd, 3/4 len. 1:23.79.
5- BM 68, 1400m: 3.90 AZARA (B Campbell, C Jordan) 1, 9.00 Hero Of Romani (T Baker) 2, 5.00 Alpine Blast (S Carr) 3, 3.30 fav. Jeremiah (T Hope) 4. Sht 1/2 hd, sht 1/2 hd. 1:24.54.
6- BM 68, 1100m: 4.20 MICHBAR (A Trinder, B McCoull) 1, 3.80 fav. Geegeeluckystar (C Baker) 2, 5.50 Copper Charm (C Wells) 3, 9.50 Sparkling One (T Baker) 4. Len, hd. 1:03.21.
7- RATING 62, 1200m: 3.00 FIGHTING FLOYD (I Miller, B McCoull) 1, 6.00 Lord Whitegate (A Darmanin) 2, 41.00 Kohima (M Ulucinar) 3, 2.90 fav. Shake Your Tooshy (C Baker) 4. L/Scr: Gee Gee Rhythm.
