FRANKSTON TIMES scoreboard
Diamond shines in the wet HORSE RACING Winners are grinners: Men’s Gift winner Matt Burleigh with Bendigo Bank’s Wendy, Allison and Julie. Picture: Barry Irving
The Rye Gift keeps giving By Barry Irving SATURDAY 11 January saw the running of the 46th Rye Gift. Cooler weather and a great program meant that the ground filled up with spectators and competitors alike. In what is now accepted as a great family day adults and children were well catered for. The six participating clubs that make up the Rye Sports and Social Club manned the gates, the food tents and canteen, beverage tent and catering as well as the bar. This unique group all share in the profits that this day yields. With cooler weather was welcomed by the competitors and with a strong south-westerly breeze at their backs gave assistance to the sprinters, the distance runners flew down the back straight but felt the full force of the head wind when they turned into the home stretch. The sponsors and guests luncheon catered by the Rye Cricket club members was once again enjoyed by all and well attended with representatives from major sponsor Bendigo Bank
and the Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor and councillors. The blue ribbon events the 120m Men’s gift and the120m Women’s gift both now have equal prize monies with each event sharing $6,000 between the placegetters in each event. RESULTS: Bendigo Bank Men’s 120m Gift: 1st. Matt Burleigh off 10m in 12.274 2nd. Jason Bailey off 7.25m in 12.437 3rd. Aidan Green off 6.75m in 12.485 Bendigo Bank Women’s 120m Gift: 1st. Bree Masters off 0.25m in 13.831 2nd. Tara Domaschenz off 4.50m in 13.939 3rd. Liana Grandine off 3.5m in 14.126 The footballers relay was won by the Red Hill FC with Rosebud FC second and Rye FC third. The junior football relay was won by Dromana Jnr FC. With Rye Jnr Fc second and Red Hill Jnr FC taking third place and Rosebud in fourth.
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By Ben Triandafillou AEECEE Diamond topped off a state double for Morningtonbased trainer Anthony Freedman on Thursday 16 January. Following on from Western Wingo’s maiden victory at Ararat earlier in the day, Aeecee Diamond relished the wet conditions and scored a tough victory to break his maiden at the Pakenham night meeting. Bringing up the stables 16th winner from their past 50 runners, the three-year-old gelding by Fighting Sun was forced to do it the hard way by racing three-wide the entire trip after drawing a wide barrier. Freedman’s racing manager Brad Taylor said he was pleased to see the track receive a bit of rain. “The soft track was never going to be a concern,” he said. “Months ago (Aeecee Diamond) worked with a horse called Southbank on a Soft track and left her for dead so if that’s the form line to go off then I thought he was going to be pretty tough to beat in a maiden.” Southbank had finished third beaten under a length in the Group One Thousand Guineas in the Spring – some form line to compare with a maiden race. Despite being caught deep in the run, Aeecee Diamond continued to lift over the concluding stages to hold a neck margin
over John Price-trained Arfa Crown and the John McArdletrained Celestial Warrior who finished off well for third. “It wasn’t a pretty watch,” Taylor said. “The horse was tough, he has a nice amount of ability to sit three wide like he did and to still keep finding on the line was very good. “The guys that have been riding him at home have always said that he feels like a 1400m to a miler and the way he finished off that looks to be his go.” Jockey Luke Currie shared the same thoughts following
the win. “The way he jumped away, if he had of drawn a barrier, he could have box seated but he was very good.,” Currie said. “He got there and had a bit of a look around and when the two (horses) came to his inside I felt him lift again. He definitely wants to get out to seven furlongs and probably beyond.” The victory was also Freedman’s first winner for leading syndicator Brad Spicer who races Aeecee Diamond in partnership with the Australian Chinese Jockey Club.
Neatly cut: Aeecee Diamond relishes the wet track to land his maiden victory for trainer Anthony Freedman at Pakenham. Picture: Supplied
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