John Blacker is predicting a bright future for lightly-raced 3YO Lontano after he broke through for his first win in the 1200-metre maiden in Launceston on Wednesday night.
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Lontano put the writing on the wall with a strong effort at his second race start on March 29 when he was trapped wide throughout and finished a close fourth.
A drifter in the market with huge support for Geegeehailstorm ($2.70 - $1.40), Lontano started at $9.50 after opening $3.30.
"I just thought the tricky gate (seven) would be a bit of a concern. Our plan was to go forward, and he's improved in his trackwork, and I think he's a promising horse going forward," Blacker said.
"They ran their last 600 in 34.72, and that's not bad for a maiden horse."
Comeback jockey Kasi Boxall gave her mount Geegee Strawberry ($7.50) every chance.
The filly just found the winner too good, beaten 3/4 length in second place.
After success aboard Lontano, apprentice Jackson Radley returned with another winner when Mightymaxi proved too strong in the 2100m Maiden/Class 1.
Radley sat back when speed was injected into the race at the halfway mark, and that proved to be a winning move, with Maightymaxi ($11) overpowering Tosen Fame ($5) in the last 100m to win drawing away.
"I've had a few rides on this horse now, and you just need to keep building momentum on him, and when Liam (Riordan) put his foot down at the 1000m, I was pretty confident that I could get there," Radley said.
Tasmanian apprentices remain in the spotlight, with Devonport-based apprentice Chloe Wells heading to Darwin on Friday to represent Tasmania in the fourth round of the National Apprentice Race Series.
Mikki in a tricky finish
Consistent mare Tricky Mikki ($3.80) was finally back a winner, taking out the 1400m Class 1 Hcp, scoring in a tight finish from Surely Special ($3.70), who would have won in another stride.
Trikki Mikki hadn't won for 474 days, but she has been runner-up on six occasions.
The win continues the great run of success for trainers Tanya Hanson and Kyle Maskiell and their stable apprentice Lauryn Bingley.
"She is so tough. She's a little ripper. She barely misses a placing, so it's full credit to her. She is a tough little girl," Bingley said.
Hanson added: "She's been placed at more than half of her race starts, so she has been a little beauty, really. She was only a $10,000 purchase at the sales".
The win took Tricky Mikki's earnings to more than $66,000.
Bingley, who rode her first double last week, repeated the dose when General Assembly, fresh off a successful Melbourne visit, made a one-act affair of the 1600m BM68 Hcp.
Bingley gave a perfect front-running display, and it was obvious a long way from home that General Assembly ($4) had his rivals beaten.
The Angela Brakey-trained galloper has now won six of his 16 starts and took his stake earnings to $115,000.
"I put a tongue control bit on him tonight, and I told Lauryn if he wanted to go, just let him go," Brakey said.
"He's a horse that just wants to run, and we learn about him all the time. On the trip away, we learnt a lot, so hopefully, going forward, we have the recipe right."
