Ray Smith's Little Digger interrupted the party for the Cowra contingent at Monday's Bathurst meeting, taking out the sixth event on the 10 race program dominated by our neighbours further up the Lachlan.
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Starting second favourite from Box 3 Little Digger settled in second early over the 618 staying journey behind Dark Rain which got the best of the start from box 1.
When the leader started to fatigue approaching the turn the well backed Little Digger railed best before racing to a clear lead and although getting tired himself near the line held on for a one length win over the $2.50 favourite Midnight Joyce with Ninja Queen 1.5 lengths away in third.
The veteran of 92 starts, Little Digger took his career record to 29 wins with 29 minor placings and more than $166,000 in prizemoney.
But the meeting was really all about the Cowra contingent.
When Pamela Braddon placed Blazing Tess in box 3 for the second event at Kennerson Park on Monday she set the platform for an afternoon that would eventually end with Cowra trainers leading home seven of the Bathurst meeting's 10 winners.
Without a runner in the meeting's first event Cowra came up with an obvious blank but then went 1-2 in races 2 and 3, provided the winner of race 4, the third placegetter in race 5, and then the winners of races 7,8,9 and 10.
The most impressive winner on the program was Paul Braddon's She's A Gem which was backing up after her feature race win at Dubbo last week.
The daughter of Zambora Brockie made her heat of the Ladbrokes Monthly Medal over 450, a one act affair winning by a conservative 11.5 lengths in 25.68.
Cowra trainers provided three of the four heat winners at the meeting with Greg McAlister's Alabana taking out the first heat.
After hitting the front early in Heat 1 Alabana was always going to take some stopping.
The only query was whether he'd get a good enough start to take control of the race, an especially important question when he was drawn in the one box on the track's bumper-to-bumper 450m start.
But when he led the way midway through the bend the field didn't have a chance of catching the Cowra-trained runner.
McAlister said his consistent three-year-old hasn't been the flashiest of starters but he was definitely on the ball during Monday's outing at Bathurst.
"He's just been unlucky the last couple of starts and he'd been knocked over. We put him over the 400 today and he's gone a lot better," he said.
"He's not usually a decent starter but he was good today. It definitely helped him today, being in the box that little bit longer. Instead of playing up, he went good."
He's not usually a decent starter but he was good today
- Greg McAlister
Alabana was one of the best away from the inside box and kept himself clear of the tangle to his right.
Race outsider in both price and box number, Diamond Enlim, was also away strongly but was quickly cut off but Dana Gem to the inside.
That was how the pecking order stayed for the rest of the race as Dana Gem (Rod McDonald) tried in vain to cut back Alabana's lead.
The winning time was 26.03, considerably slower than the benchmark set by She's A Gem.
Victory ended an unlucky 13 race dry spell for Alabana, who in that time had picked up six placings.
The Pam Braddon trained Blazing Lisa made it two wins in the space of a week taking out Heat 4 in 25.74, the second fastest of the four heats.
Not the best away from box 5 Blazing Lisa worker her way through the field to take the lead into the back straight, a lead she extended the further the field raced.
At the finish she had four lengths to spare from the Rod McDonald trained Tony's Rescue with All Negoa a further eight and a quarter lengths back in third place.
The win takes Blazing Lisa's race record to nine wins and two minors from 13 starts.
Paul Braddon made it a double at the meeting with Flaming Fury, another of the Braddon dogs to make it two wins in a week.
Darren Wort then took out the penultimate event with Banjo Fernando, which was backing up after its win at last week's Bathurst meeting, before Rod McDonald shrugged off a frustrating run of minor placings by wrapping up the meeting for the Cowra connections with Dana Looney.