Lettuce Nipya winning the Group 2 NSW Breeders Challenge Blue Final. Photo by Getty Images
A TRIP to Queensland may have turned him into the perfect pacer.
And Goulburn horseman Brad Hewitt was a relieved man when Lettuce Nipya showed his true worth with a devastating nine and a half metre win in the first feature race at Tabcorp Park Menangle on Saturday night, the $100,000 NSW Breeders Challenge Blue for three-year-old colts and geldings.
Given little peace in front from second favourite Dangerous Threats, Lettuce Nipya broke the magical 1:50 mark, rating a slashing 1:49.7 to defeat Paradise Point and Dangerous Threats with remarkable ease.
“We took him to Queensland and then brought him back home for a freshen-up and he was really dialled in tonight,” said a thrilled Hewitt as he returned with Lettuce Nipya.
“He’s on top of his game now.
“He has always shown the ability at home and can go with any of our Saturday night and our free-for-all horses.
“But until tonight he just hadn’t been able to bring it to the racetrack.
“I’m glad he was able to do that tonight.
“I think Menangle just suits him down to the ground and I’m rapt that he was able to produce it on the track tonight when it really mattered.”
Lettuce Nipya (by Tintin In America) took his earnings beyond the $125,000 mark and after wresting the lead from the speedy Our Goat when the field settled, simply proved far too good for his rivals.
The $100,000 two-year-old Fillies Breeders Blue final was a much more competitive affair which saw champion West Australian reinsman Gary Hall junior pick up a winning drive and score an exciting win with the Bathurst-trained The Swift One.
Ironically, ace reinsman Will Rixon gave up the drive on The Swift One in favour of handling Violet Hanover for trainer David Thorn.
But Hall made the most of his opportunity, scoring a half-head victory over polemarker Our Ultimate Jane, who just failed to score an all-the-way win, getting nabbed in the last stride to the roar of a big team of supporters there with The Swift One’s trainer Darrell Dwyer from Georges Plains. Third place went to Personified, just ahead of Wicked Susan with the winner rating 1:53.8.
The third of the $100,000 Breeders Blue final was for the three-year-old fillies and resulted in amazing last-to-first victory for Queensland filly Soap Opera.
Young reinsman Angus Garrard got his drive inch-perfect to grab Aromet Girl in the last stride to grab victory by a head in a 1:53.3 mile.
The 21-year-old reinsman admitted his filly simply went “enormous”.
“She really had no right to finish this race off the way she did,” said Garrard.
“It’s good to see her back to her best.
“Actually, she’s done a really good job the entire year. She did have a bit of a setback around Oaks time but she was a lot better through the winter.
“She has a bit of a funny way of going but, gee, she’s got a great motor.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION TELEPHONE CLUB MENANGLE RACING MANAGER DAVID WONSON ON 0438-398-251.
