Alison Smith's debutant Cotton On George was soundly beaten in the fourth at Racing Orange's Poets Race Day on Friday afternoon, not long after Dubbo trainer Kody Nestor continued his winning ways with an early double in the first and second.
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Following his wins at Dubbo on Derby Day and Melbourne Cup Day, Nestor picked up wins with $8 chance Dad's Boy in the first and then $1.90 favourite Sneak Preview in the second, they were ridden by Jake Pracey-Holmes and Anthony Cavallo respectively.
The catalyst for the first of those wins proved to be a slight bump at the top of the straight, which allowed Pracey-Holmes to kick on and score over 2100 metres on board Dad's Boy, which he then labelled 'a bastard of a horse'.
Pracey-Holmes was gunning for a big lead come the top of Towac Park's straight but that didn't go to plan, in fact Garry White's Cool One ($3.20) snatched it away just moments before the contact.
At that point it looked like Mathew Cahill, who'd nursed Cool One perfectly under the 61-kilogram top weight, would let White's mare down and cruise to an easy win or, at the very least, finish much stronger than Nestor's chance.
Instead she lost her rhythm with the bump and Dad's Boy surged, finding an extra gear and eventually saluting by a length in the Top Coat Epoxy Flooring Benchmark 58 Handicap, with $1.85 favourite Sepulchre another length back in third.
The victory was Dad's Boy's second from his 27 career starts, his first and last victory coming at Newcastle in July of last year.
"He wasn't all out (when Cool One snatched the lead), he's just a bastard of a horse and I had to go for it early," Pracey-Holmes said.
"He's a big, lazy bastard ... he just didn't want to go (early). Probably the best that happened [was] copping that bump because it got him going a bit. He needs it up and all the way because if he doesn't have to do it he won't.
"But he's got another win on the board now and hopefully he can go on with it."
Sneak Preview then saluted in the Inland Digital Class 3 Handicap (1400m) before Roy McCabe's I Stole Your Love scored for the third time on the trot, storming four lengths clear in the On-Trac Ag Benchmark 66 Handicap (1300m)
Smith's debutant, as an $8 chance luggin 59kg, then ran for third in the Kitchens & Cabinets CG&E Maiden Plate (1000m), almost three lengths behind winner and $2.25 favourite Jin Chi Phantom.
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Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
