Rodney Robb has his eyes on the $150,000 Country Championship Qualifier at Dubbo Turf Club next year after seeing Lucienne score her first win since making the move to Nyngan.
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The four-year-old mare was previously trained by Chris Waller but now calls Robb’s stables home.
After a fourth-placed finish at Dubbo in her first start for Robb, Lucienne took out a dramatic One Stop Automotive Class 1 Handicap (1100m) at Wellington on Monday.
There was a few scares before the race began as three horses, hometown hope Magic Is Might, Hurry Up Kelvin and Mossbridge, became fractious in the barriers and all became late scratchings.
When the race was run it took a photo to declare Lucienne the winner from the Michael Lynch-trained London Cab while Caisson Platoon, ridden by Dubbo jockey Chris Williams for Gayna Williams, was third.
“I didn’t think (I’d won),” Robb told Sky Thoroughbred Central, going on to say it was a better performance than the first-up run at Dubbo.
“She’s a lot fitter and it was 1100m today and she has been a model of consistency before we got her home and freshened her up for a couple of weeks.
“She was a lot better mare today.”
The win also continued a fine run of form for jockey Eleanor Webster-Hawes.
It was back-to-back wins for Cowra-based hoops to start the day at Wellington after Mathew Cahill had guided Tracey Bartley’s In Good Time to victory in the opener.
Webster-Hawes stated she was unsure if she got the win either but there was no doubting the quality of Lucienne’s run.
London Cab ($6.50) led the way early from pre-race Dreamnomore ($2.40), ridden by Greg Ryan, while Webster-Hawes and Lucienne ($5) sat third.
Lucienne moved forward around the outside and followed Cab No More into the straight.
Caisson Platoon ($7) also began to loom but the front pair went strife-for-stride right past the post.
A photo was needed to confirm Lucienne got the bob of the head.
“She’s tough. The owners said she’s just one-paced so I just annoyed Greg’s horse for awhile and then she got the better of London Cab at the finish,” Webster-Hawes said.
“It was very close but it favours the outside here a bit, I think.”
Lucienne is owned by the same group who previously owned Blades Of Glory, a two-time Nyngan Cup winner, for Robb.
While Webster-Hawes was all smiles after Monday’s win, Daniel Pitomac was left sore and with a foot injury after being thrown by the Jim McMillan-trained Might Is Magic, one of the three scratchings, in the barriers.
Webster-Hawes went on to score an early double when she took out the third race, the Quain’s Bottleshop F&M Maiden Handicap (1100m) with Girl Most Likely for Dubbo trainer Justin Stanley.
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
