Caribbean Pat had been in the minor placings for five of her last six starts so it was no surprise the mare was able to get her second career win for Parkes trainer Malcolm Hutchings in Bathurst last Friday night.
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The Caribbean Blaster x Athletic River four-year-old was in her 34th career start for Hutchings, and since breaking her maiden in Tamworth on November 5 the mare's sectional times have shown steady improvement; with either Steve Turnbull, Brett Hutchings or Malcolm himself on the reins.
After starting in the inside of the second row, Turnbull settled midfield and as the leaders set a steady pace up front he remained patient before parking himself one out and one back on the last lap.
At the top of the straight Turnbull pressed go and Caribbean Pat ($13) responded accordingly, streaking away from the tiring leaders to win by a comfortable 8.60 metres ahead of Limbo Larry ($5 fixed place) and the fast finishing favourite The Mach Army ($1.40 fixed place).
It was a flawless drive by Turnbull, and the mile rate of 1:59.1 signalled just how far the mare has come since winning in 2:02.9 at Tamworth over 1609 metres.
Bred out of the Yirribee Pacing Stud, Caribbean Pat has now won $16,868 for Hutchings with a best winning mile rate of 1:59.1 across the Parkes, Bathurst, Dubbo and Tamworth tracks.
It was a fantastic night of racing on a beautiful Bathurst evening, and it was no surprise to many that Mat Rue took out the Elgas/Mitre 10 Oberon Cup later in the meeting with Fouroeight ($1.65)
Rue had a massive smile on his face and he was not the only one; with a huge group of Fouroeight fans clapping and cheering as the $1.65 favourite took out the 2,260 metre feature.
Rue's eight-year-old came from last to take the win in a run the Bathurst trainer-driver rated as one of the best in his gelding's career.
"The owners were here tonight and few of the LiveBetter community...they love him.
"They were all roaring and screaming, so I thought I'd better give them a bit of a hello," he told Australian Community Media of his salute at the post.
Fouroeight hit the front with some 70m to go, winning by 5 metres over Aphorism ($2.30 fixed place), with Maximus Red a further 5.8m back in third in the six horse field.
"I'll always back his speed, as long as I'm within three lengths of them at the 400 I'll always be pretty confident as long as I don't get too wide," Rue said.
"We've changed his drive just a little bit lately to make him settle a bit more in the run and when I asked him to go, he just went like mad."
Fouroeight's win not only delivered Rue his maiden Oberon Cup success, it also saw the gelding join Smithstars Lexus as the most successful runner in the history of the Bathurst Paceway.
His wins at the track have also included the Group 3 Gold Chalice Final in 2016, the Don and Freda Callan Memorial, a Country Series heat and a Breeders Challenge heat.
His earnings now stand at $250,375 from 86 career runs - a phenomenal return from a regional based pacer.
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