A born and bred product of Young, Debbie Prest had always wanted to win a Burrangong Cup.
Always the bridesmaid, Prest had gone close in the past, but that all changed on Saturday as Emily Harrison rode Blinkin Nomore to victory in the $8,000 Burrangong Young Picnic Cup (1400m).
“I’d never won it previously but had finished second a lot of times,” Prest laughed.
“It’s my hometown Picnic Cup and a race I’d been in a lot of times, so yes, it was nice to finally win it.”
In a race that suited the backmarkers, Aerobatic Warrior was clearly the first away from the gates, with Ricky Blewitt leading easily on the John Rolfe-trained galloper.
The pair led into the home straight from the Darryl Rolfe-trained Final Showdown (Leandro Ribeiro, $6.40).
Harrison peeled out on Blinkin Nomore in a thrilling finish and led the charge to the finishing line.
The pair held off a game California August (Maddison Wright, $2.70) by a long head, while in third and two lengths back was the David Blundell-trained Magpie (Sebastian Galea, $7).
Making the win all the more special was the fact that Harrison was in the saddle.
Prest and her partner Peter Kirby introduced the amateur jockey to the sport, and delivering the young hoop her first Picnic Cup victory is a memory that will live with the trio for the rest of their days.
“As Peter said, ‘You couldn’t have written a better script’; her family was there, and they were so thrilled,” Prest said.
“Up until that win, her family had thought she and us were plain crazy, and one thing her Mum and Dad said after the win is that they now understand why we do what we do.”
While Blinkin Nomore has his vices, with Prest describing him as a ‘cunning little thing’ that can catch a jockey ‘off guard’, she believes he is the perfect horse for Harrison to learn her craft on.
“Pete bought the horse for Emily to go to the picnics,” Prest said.
“We bought four from Bryan Dixon for that reason; we want her to learn on the right type of horse and protect her a bit.
“She is improving, and he is a good horse for her to learn on, and he only does what she asks of him.”
It’s been a good year for Prest and Kirby, with stable stalwart Broo Boss also claiming the Tullibigeal Cup, and they are setting their sights on the Harden Picnic Cup, which will be run and won on Saturday, October 28.
“We’ve had a good run; we’ve won the Tullibigeal Cup and Bligh Cup with Broo Boss, and now Blinky has won the Burrangong Cup,” Prest said.
“We usually have Class B horses but have struck a couple of good ones lately, and we’ll keep Blinky fresh and head to the Harden Cup.
“We’ll enjoy a week off from racing this weekend, and he has had several weeks of racing in a row, so it gives him a bit of a gap, and he should be fresh and ready to go at Harden.”
It was a fantastic day at Young, and Prest was pleased with the Young racecourse.
“Young was beautiful, the track was lovely, and they couldn’t have had it any better,” Prest said.
Samara Johnson Memorial Award winner Ricky Blewitt pinched jockey honours in a good day’s racing at Young, landing a double.
The veteran hoop won aboard the John Rolfe-trained Captain Corelli ($1.70) in the 1100m Open Trophy Handicap and the John Nisbet-trained Coupla Days ($1.60) in the 1200m Class Three Trophy Handicap.
Darryl Rolfe won the 800m Class Two Trophy Handicap with Hamish The Swift (Leandro Ribeiro, $1,70); the Geoffrey Crothers-trained Kisses For Jody (Sebastian Galea, $5) was a class above in the 1200m Maiden Plate; and Kerry Weir enjoyed success with Red Hill (Emily Waters, $1.70) claiming victory in the 1600m Class B Handicap.
For all results, click here.
