Always Fiorente, the Bourke Picnic Cup winner on Easter Sunday, backed up on Saturday to win the 1500 metres Alkane Tomingley Gold Operations-Tomingley Picnic Cup for Dubbo trainer Clint Lundholm. Narromine-based Ricky Blewitt was again the rider and whereas Always Fiorente led throughout at Bourke, Blewitt chose to take a trail on Saturday behind the joint frontrunners My Diamond Boy and Hemsted. Joining in at the 200 metres, Always Fiorente ($2.50 favourite) finished best to beat My Diamond Boy (Leandro Ribeiro,$3.50) by a neck with Allande (Dylan Parrott, $8) a length away third. Able to take a day off his work at a western area mine, Michael Gray, in the saddle on three outsiders, kicked home a winning treble, King Lesong, Spotted and Frenetico. Trained at Forbes by Peter Kirby, King Lesong ($10) led all the way to win the 800 metres Cracking Crutching Maiden Plate from Air Miles (Dylan Parrott, $2.70 equal favourite) and Lollylicious (Eloise Drews, $6.50). From the Kieren Hazelton stable at Gilgandra, Spotted came from behind the leading group to win the 800 metres JDP Heavy Diesel Class 2 Trophy Handicap in the closest finish on a central west track for many, many years with race caller Tim Moses saying, “you could throw a tea towel over the first five”. After a lengthy delay, the judge Neville Goode announcer the official placings as Spotted (Michael Gray, $8) the winner by a short half head from Corvette Pride with a nose to the third place dead heaters Shades Of Truth and Te Pani and a nose to You Count in fifth place. So close was the finish, there were numerous punters who thought You Count (5th) may have won while others favoured the leader Te Pani ( dead heater for third) to get the decision as winner. Completing the Michael Gray treble was the Bill Hayes, Forbes trained Frenetico ($10) which came from 4th to win the 1500 metres Dubbo City Toyota/Thinkwater Dubbo Class B Handicap from Queen Kicker (Ashley Boyd, $4.40) and Kuroshinzo (Leandro Ribeiro, $2.90 favourite). Bill Hayes for several years took horses to race over summer on King Island (Tasmania) where the Tomingley winner Frenetico had been formerly trained by Robert Keys. Making a long trip from Woolongong to Tomingley for a single ride on a relative outsider, Paul Zerafa was rewarded when the Terry Fulwood, Narromine trained The Drafter won the 1150 metres O’Brian/Angus/Strahorn Family Class 3 Trophy Handicap. Near last in the run to the hometurn, The Drafter ($9) swept down the outside to score by over a length from Notleanormean (Leandro Ribeiro, $2.80 favourite) and Bitta Bon Magic (Ashley Boyd, $4). Rarely does leading trainer Connie Greig fail to win a race at a meeting and her Tomingley winner was Taxonomy (Leandro Ribeiro, $2.10 favourite) which led, was headed halfway down the straight, then responded to account for Fuel The Jet (Ashley Boyd $2.20) and Checkout Chick (Ricky Blewitt, $7) in the 1150 metres Steve Magill Earthmoving Maiden Plate. Racing on ANZAC Day at Bathurst, Nyngan and Cootamundra Picnics and on Sunday at Narromine.
