Kerryn Manning landed a rewarding victory with her talented mare Surfingmakescents in the Hygain Victory Mares Pace at Melton on Saturday night.
The five-year-old showed a brilliant turn of foot to flash home and defeat Wings On The Line and Sweet Ideal, clocking a slick 1:54.6 mile rate with a sharp final quarter of 27.4.
It was a satisfying result for Manning, who trains and drives Surfingmakescents and has dealt with a number of setbacks throughout the mare’s career.
“It was terrific, a big relief and a big thrill,” Manning said.
“She’s had a lot of problems. She was pretty much sold to America last December and then she broke her pastern three days later and had surgery and screws. This win will help pay for some of that.”
Manning was pleased with how the mare stuck to her task on the night.
“She’s very good, she’s just not the best racehorse. But tonight she was pretty good. I thought she was going to knock off right at the end there, but she managed to stick her head out,” she said.
“I am really proud of her. She is a good horse and it’s good to get a win with her.”
Surfingmakescents has had a stop-start career, but has always shown ability.
“In the Oaks heat, she came out of the gate, galloped and fell over, broke my wrist and hurt her knee and shoulder. She had a bit of time off after that. She came back and won a couple of races and then again hurt the leg last time,” Manning said.
“She’s been in the wars. She has a lot of talent but doesn’t have the brain to match it sometimes.”
Manning hopes the mare can now continue on without further hiccups.
“Hopefully she can go on with it now and hopefully nothing else goes too wrong. She will be competitive in good races, she just needs to learn to race better.”
The win formed part of a training-driving double for Manning, who also scored with Vera Lane in the Hertz Melton 3YO Trot.
Saturday night also featured a series of standout performances from other drivers and stables.
Jordan Leedham enjoyed a winning double for trainer Andy Gath, taking out the Benstud Standardbreds Free For All aboard Yambukian in a dead heat with Sahara Breeze, before returning to win the final event of the night with Alrighty.
Glen Craven also scored twice, partnering the in-form Jilliby Ballerini to her fourth-straight win for Marg and Paddy Lee, and guiding Hes All Torque to victory for Peter Manning. The result lifted the five-year-old’s earnings past the $100,000 mark.
