Exciting pacer Eureka put the finishing touches to Kate Gath’s magical return to Tabcorp Park Melton on Saturday night.
Fresh back from a driving-related suspension, Gath claimed the last leg of a winning treble with the former New Zealander, which scored a dominant victory in the VHRC Pace (1720m, NR 64-69).
The son of Washington VC had to race in the death seat for much of the journey, but it proved no barrier as he let down at the top of the straight and charged clear to win comfortably in a mile rate of 1:55:3min.
It was the four-year-old’s fourth win from five appearances in Australia, with the only blemish coming when he galloped and broke gear at Cranbourne in late March.
“His last start at Ballarat and his trial since then, he has just given me a really good feel,” Gath told SEN Track.
“I’ve just come back and gone to (trainer/husband) Andy (Gath) ‘I really like this horse’. And I don’t say that about that many.
“He just seems to be getting better and better and I’m really not surprised that he did what he did (Saturday night) on the feel he has given me on the last couple of starts.”
Gath scored earlier wins with Emma Stewart’s Two Times Bettor and Arden Voyager, which like Eureka is trained by her husband Andy.
The reappearance of Stewart’s superstar pacer Poster Boy was billed as a major highlight of Saturday night’s card and he didn’t disappoint.
Injury and illness had kept the multiple group 1 winner sidelined for close to a year before the previous weekend’s victory at Melton and he backed up seven days later with another scintillating performance. Racing in the TAB Long May We Play Pace (2240m, NR 90-120), Poster Boy was allowed to roll to the front by driver Greg Sugars and with minimal pressure, he covered his last 800m in 54.8sec to clock a mile rate of 1:55:7min.
“As you saw, he straightened up and did that all himself. To snap off a sub-27 quarter without even being asked for it – it takes a real good horse to do that,” Sugars said.
The win was the last of three on the night for the Myrniong-based Sugars, which also scored with Im No Outlaw and Cocosfella for trainer/wife Jess Tubbs.
Sugars’ sister Kylie was another to leave Melton with a big smile on her face after the performance of Sammy Showdown in the Alderbaran Park Trot (2240m, NR 75-120).
The horse beat a quality field of squaregaiters to register his first success since his six-race streak ended in early February.
