For punters, he might not be the easiest horse to find, but the well-named Wealthy Investor ($31) triumphed in Sunday’s $50,000 Gilgandra Cup (1600m).
Ridden by Jake Pracey-Holmes for Wyong visitor and Coonamble native, Damien Lane, the 6YO Capitalist gelding scored his fifth career win, powering to a dominant victory at Gilgandra.
Ridden quietly from gate one, sitting midfield for the early stages of the feature event, Pracey-Holmes made his move with six furlongs remaining in the race, taking Wealthy Investor four wide before finding the front and catching his rivals off guard as they landed a comfortable win by the best part of two lengths.
At $31, Lane’s runner was one of the outsiders in Gilgandra’s big race, and he wasn’t surprised.
“He’s been a frustrating horse, to be honest,” Lane told Country Punter.
“He promised the world as a young horse and probably didn’t deliver, but on his day, he’s got the ability, but he needs everything to go his way and a good, aggressive rider, and we definitely got that with Jake Pracey-Holmes.”
Lane was quick to praise the popular country jockey for a heads-up ride on Wealthy Investor.
“He’s a funny horse, and if you try to lead on him early, he over-races and won’t finish off, but if you get his first half of the race right, then get him rolling early and give him everything, he’s got it in him, and that’s what happened at Gilgandra,” Lane said.
“He probably caught a few of them napping, and had them off the bridle, and he was the only horse you wanted to be on when straightening, and if anything, he came away from them quite well.”
Lane’s stable has been in good form of late, with the talented Oakfield Jupiter – a two-time Midway Handicap winner – triumphing at Royal Randwick in October and Rosehill Gardens in November.
Then, in December, training wins at Wyong and Scone, and in January at Port Macquarie and Gilgandra, the Wyong-based conditioner was pleased to see the results filtering through.
“We made a decision just over 12 months ago to cut our numbers back, and at that time, we had 45 in work and two barns running; it was too much,” Lane said.
“I like to go to the races 90% of the time, and with that many numbers, it was getting pretty draining.
“We’ve gone back to one barn at the track, and we cart a load in each morning. We have 25 horses now, and it’s just a lot more manageable, and I feel like the horses are racing well.”
Looking ahead, Lane is eyeing feature-race success with his impressive 4YO Toronado mare, Oakfield Jupiter.
A four-time winner from just five attempts, Lane is setting his galloper for the upcoming Provincial Championships.
“Oakfield Jupiter is a really nice mare that’s won four from five and a couple of Midways, and she’ll go on a Provincial Championships campaign,” he said.
“I don’t know her level, but she’s one of the nicer horses I’ve had.”
