Spry enjoys triple treat
Sun, January 15 2012
Carl Spry should have his good mate Shane Scriven visit the Top End more often.
Scriven, a five-time Group 1-winning jockey, has spent the past couple of weeks staying with Spry as he prepares to embark on a comeback to the saddle.
But it is Spry who is showing the benefits of a fitness regimen judging by his winning treble at Fannie Bay yesterday.
Spry kick-started things with a boilover result on the David Jupp-trained Celestial Kingdom before following it up aboard Buzlightning and Brinkley Boy for rising trainer Louis Paech.
"It's been a while between drinks (for trebles), but it's been a good day," Spry said.
"Louis is doing a great job with the horses, I'm pretty happy he's letting me be associated with them and David's horse produced a strong effort to win."
Buzlightning created the biggest talking point when he was awarded the Benji and Mac Sawyer Handicap (1600m).The striking grey was originally adjudged to have finished in a dead-heat with Flopitidop - a decision that came well after the jockeys had returned to scale and weighed in.
But that was not the end of the story with connections of both horses heading upstairs to the judge's box to take a look at the print.
Flopitidop's trainer Jason Manning was happy enough to accept the verdict, but Paech, flanked by owner Justin Coleman, believed there was a clear winning margin to their horse.
After considerable deliberation, chief steward Lindsay Lane declared Buzlightning the winner by a nose, much to the delight of those punters who were on the $2.80 favourite.
Brinkley Boy ($3.20) was a more convincing winner with a length victory in the NT Major Events Rating 70 Handicap (1100m).
Not only did Brinkley Boy complete Spry's treble, but he provided Paech with a double and owner Coleman, a major supporter of the NT horse racing industry, with four winners for the day.
Three came in Darwin (Brinkley Boy, Buzlightning and Rogue Warrior) and one (St Gabriel) at Morphettville.
Rogue Warrior, trained by David Bates, was given a gun ride by the returning Jan Cameron in the Cancer Council NT Handicap (1200m), while the Chris Pollard-trained Ekrum (Scott Hillebrand) got the money in the opening race.
Story courtesy of Gregor Mactaggart, NT News
