JOCKEY Paul Gatt steered home three winners at the Gawler racecourse on Monday to score an impressive treble in front of a solid local crowd.
The 40-year-old’s first victory came in race three – an 1100m sprint – where he stormed down the straight aboard Tony McEvoy’s $1.95 favourite, Dixon Street, to pass the post almost six lengths clear.
Magestic Diva ran second for Dan Clarken and Oopy MacGillivray, while Gawler trainer Gary Searle’s Kishstar slotted into third.
Gatt backed up his victory with another in the following race, over 1200m, by riding Peter Blanch’s Scare Campaign ($5) to success.
The five-year-old gelding beat Gawler trainer Darren Magro’s Khani Star by just over a length, with Habanero finishing third.
The triumph broke a three-start run of second place finishes for Scare Campaign at Gawler.
To clinch his treble, Gatt had to wait until race seven – the second to last event on the card – where he steered Picture Me Rolling to a solid two-length victory.
Trained by Jake Stephens, the $3.70-shot proved too good for Sue Nolan’s Getouttheway and Ryan Balfour’s Bwuva.
It was the six-year-old mare’s second-consecutive win, after storming home from back in the field during her most recent start at Strathalbyn in late September.
Also on the day, jockey Jerry Chau started and finished the race meeting with victories to register a double.
His first win, over 2100m, was aboard trainer Travis Doudle’s short-priced favourite Elevenbee, which crossed the line three lengths ahead of Manilow, for local trainers Kerri McAnulty and Clint Binnie, and Thee Queen Bee.
It was Elevenbee’s second start since June. Chau’s other victory came after he guided Ready Sunshine to a thrilling victory in the final race of the day – an 1100m sprint.
The nine-year-old gelding was well priced at $5.50, and held out contenders The Trooper ($7.50) and Anamnesis ($4) by less than half a length.
Meanwhile, three other jockeys shared the remaining spoils throughout the day.
Hoop Lachlan Neindorf had an impressive win in race two, over 1200m, while riding $9-shot Lippsy Shuffle.
Trained by Stuart Gower, the four-year-old gelding – starting from the wide barrier 10 – was too good for Jon O’Connor’s short-priced favourite Angaston ($2.10) and Gary Searle’s Secret War ($7.50).
The remaining races on the card, ran over 1700m and 2100m, were won by Set To Cruise and Classy Joe, which were ridden by Shayne Cahill and Sairyn Fawke, respectively.
The next race day at Gawler will be held on Friday, October 25 in the twilight time-slot and will feature the highly-anticipated Gawler Cup.
For more information about the event, contact the Gawler & Barossa Jockey Club
(8522 1801).