Rochelle Milnes is swiftly making a name for herself as a young gun on the rise, scoring the first metro treble of her riding career at Morphettville Parks on Saturday.
Just over a week after notching her 100th career win, Milnes had a landmark day in the saddle at metro-level, steering Lake’s Folly, Brave Star and Morris Minor to victory on the Parks’ nine-race card.
The promising apprentice continues to land winners at a rapid rate. After securing riding honours on Saturday she now sits second overall for wins (67) in South Australia this season. Milnes, 22, was quick to show her gratitude to those around her.
“It’s hard to talk about how much I appreciate the support from my bosses John (Dunn) and Krystal (Bishop), I really can’t say thank you to them enough,” Milnes said.
“The (apprentice) academy, Dean (Pettit) and Briony (Moore), I ride work at Stokesy’s (Phillip Stokes) on Tuesday mornings and I’ve really been rewarded for that.
“I’m just making the most of those (opportunities), it’s all a blessing really, I never thought I’d do anything like this – I take every opportunity I can.”
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Murray Bridge trainer Michael Hickmott also scored a hat-trick on Saturday, albeit with an interstate runner involved, snaring the opening two races on the Parks circuit alongside a Melbourne winner – all in the space of 45 minutes.
Artillery landed a strong win under Jessica Eaton to kickstart proceedings in SA, before Fancify led all the way for a dominant win at Flemington under Tatum Bull.
Lake’s Folly let down powerfully in the final 200m in race two on the Parks circuit for Milnes, securing a quickfire treble for Hickmott, who was on track at Flemington to watch the talented Fancify score.
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“(It was) a fantastic run for the new owners today, she rode her beautiful, Tatum and I had a good chat before the race,” Hickmott said after Fancify’s win.
“A shout out to Justin Groves at the SAJC, he allowed me to gallop her (Fancify) before the races a couple of weeks ago, she wasn’t already a stakes grade horse, so a big thank you to Justin because that’s really helped us get here today.
“She’s a nice mare going places, they (owners) are going to have a heck of fun racing her.”
Hickmott’s SA double secured training honours on the Parks’ card, even though he narrowly missed a treble, with Maracourt defeated by the Stokes-trained Brave Star by less than a half-length in race four.
Another impressive performer on the day was Merchant Boss, which bullocked its way through a gap under Jacob Opperman upon straightening and let down powerfully to score by four lengths in the Sportsbet Jockey Watch Benchmark 68 Handicap (1550m).
Pipping Merchant Boss for win of the day, however, was the Garret Lynch-trained gelding El Salto, which lumped 65kg to victory in the Sportsbet Fast Form Benchmark 62 (1000m) with Campbell Rawiller in the saddle.
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Rawiller produced a top steer – finding the rail, saving ground and waiting patiently until a gap opened at the 250m, which El Salto charged through to claim an impressive two-and-a-half length win at odds of $34 (TAB).
Sweet Baby Boom, which saluted in the Dominant Benchmark 78 Handicap (1250m) with Kayla Crowther aboard, ensured training pair Will Clarken and Niki O’Shea took the lead in the Adelaide trainers’ premiership with 37 wins for the season. Richard and Chantelle Jolly are hot on their heels with 36 wins.
Premiership-leading jockey Jake Toeroek scored aboard Lindsay Park galloper Master Montaro to extend his lead in the Adelaide jockeys’ title race (42 wins) ahead of Todd Pannell (38).