Jason Lee indicated talented three-year-old Jilliby Sniper could attract overseas interest following his impressive win at Melton on Saturday night.
Sent out the $1.85 favourite, Jilliby Sniper was sent forward by Lee at the start, wresting the lead off Ocean Avenue inside the first 400 metres of the race.
The son of Tall Dark Stranger had to withstand some mid-race pressure from Thunderfire before cruising to an easy win from outsiders Ocean Avenue and King Saint in a mile rate of 1:54.9.
Lee was pleased the winner was able to prevail after doing more than his fair share of work in the run.
“He was super, he’s got plenty of ability and he’s a well-bred horse and it’s just a shame that he does go a knee, but he’ll just get better with time,” Lee said.
“I thought he was pretty impressive tonight as he had to do it at both ends and even in the middle, so he was good,” he said.
Lee indicated Jilliby Sniper could be the subject of inquiries from the US.
“He’s pretty tough and I was pretty confident he would keep kicking. The only thing, if he gets out on his own, he can switch off a little, but he’s got plenty of bottom to him,” he said.
“He might have a little spell now; it sort of gets pretty hard pretty quick here, so we’ve got to decide whether we keep racing him or we always get interest for horses like him from the US.”
Jilliby Sniper was the middle pin of a training treble for the Marg and Paddy Lee stable after both Keayang Viper and Rubys Dream saluted in their respective races.
Glen Craven gave Keayang Viper the run of the race in the one-out, one-back trail before she grabbed the leader Pistol Pearce in the shadows of the post in a mile rate of 1:56.1.
The lightly raced four-year-old has now won six of her eight career starts.
“She’s just an honest little mare and gets better each time she steps out. She hasn’t been the easiest horse to manage and has had her issues, nothing major but little things that have kept popping up,” Craven said.
Kate Gath did her best to steer TrotsVision viewers into a winner prior to the running of the Aldebaran Park Trot.
In a pre-race interview, Gath admitted her surprise at Iron Women’s tote odds of $9.
“She has been racing over the longer distances and seems over the odds from the pole over the short distance tonight, particularly if we can hold the lead,” Gath said.
Gath’s prognostication proved correct as Iron Women ($9 into $7.50) held the lead and quickly put a winning gap on her rivals around the home turn before cruising to the line, holding a nine-metre advantage over Maoris Mac.
Gath vindicated her pre-race thoughts.
“It was an alright race with a couple in good form, but I didn’t think it was overly brutal. I just thought it was possibly a race she could win, and they’ve gone pretty good time actually,” she said.
“I’m so happy for the owners. They are such good people to train for, and they put the money, so it’s so deserved when they get a winner.”
Half an hour later, the quirky-named Timmy Turtle ($4.80) completed a running double for the stable when it led all the way in the IRT Trot.
Gath said a gear change may have been the catalyst to Timmy Turtle’s return to the winner’s stall.
“He’s been frustrating because he works at home quite good but loses the plot late in his races and loses all his rhythm, so we put the half hopples on tonight, and I think they might have helped,” she said.
“I’m hoping going forward that is the key to him and if we can keep him sound and keep him happy, because he’s got great gate speed and that goes a long way to winning races.”
