'Old marvel’ holds true for apprentices

Siggy Carr out-rode her four kilogram claim on the horse and later won on him again to lose her 3kg claim.

This time it was Tayla Patterson-Doyle’s turn, out-riding her 4kg claim with an all-the-way win in the Benchmark 62 Handicap.

Trainer Leon Wells said Pengalas Gee Gee was an old marvel.

‘‘This was his 99th start and he’s won 14 races,’’ Wells said.

‘‘But even though he’s nine, he looks well and his trackwork has been enormous.

‘‘Apart from last start, when nothing went right, he hasn’t been far away at any of his recent runs.’’

Wells said he was looking forward to training Pengalas Gee Gee’s two-year-old half brother.

‘‘He’s by Wordsmith and he’s a magnificent looking animal,’’ the trainer said.

Good odds

THE only thing that surprised trainer John Blacker about Livia’s Lite’s easy win in the Maiden Plate was her price.

‘‘I thought she would have been favourite,’’ Blacker said after the four-year-old mare scored at the generous odds of $8.10.

Jockey Kim Moore brought Livia’s Lite from the back of the field to open her account at start No. 17.

‘‘She probably should have won before now but it took a while to work her out,’’ Blacker said.

‘‘If you ride her forward, she just doesn’t finish off.

‘‘Kim gave her time to settle today and she was helped by the fact that they went crazy up front.’’

Moore said that she had no option but to settle at the rear after Livia’s Lite was ‘‘a bit slow to begin’’ but the mare was always travelling well.

Although the tight Longford track tends to suit on-pace runners, there was a good mix of results on the six-race program.

Dehughes, Pengalas Gee Gee and Miss It And A Bit won from the front while Livia’s Lite, Big Pegg and Cheryl’s’s Horse came from behind.