Orange trainer Brad Draper watched over a strong run in Wellington on Monday as Seawatch claimed the Keirles Pharmacy Maiden Handicap.
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The five-year-old gelding was $6.50 heading into the 1100m feature but leapt out of the gates and had taken the lead halfway through the race.
Elenor Webster-Hawes guided Seawatch to the inside rail and had a strong lead heading into the final dash for the line.
Seawatch was able to see off challenges from the Brett Thompson-trained One More Poet, who was the favourite coming into the race at $2.70 and finished nearly a length and a half behind Draper's gelding, while Bob Howe's Trojan ran third.
Meanwhile, Cat Walk Queen was one of six horses left in the literal dust by Kody Nestor's Fast Talking in The 200k Wellington Boot 5th April Class 1 and Maiden Plate on Monday.
The $1.45 favourite finished the 1710m trek on a very dusty Wellington track a whopping eight and a half lengths ahead of second place Bansuri and nearly 11 ahead of fifth-placed and Orange based Cat Walk Queen, trained by Alex Van Den Bos.
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