Young Kyneton trainer Dean Krongold was pleasantly surprised with the first-up win of Big Knight ($9) at Swan Hill last Friday.
Having his first run since failing to beat a runner home at Moonee Valley in March this year, the five-year-old Big Brown gelding led for most of the 1300-metre journey of the $25,000 Tasco Petroleun BM64 Handicap.
The gelding defeated Sweet Perfume ($3.90) by a head with the Charles Cassar-trained Tax Evader ($31) a half-length away third, giving rider Linda Meech her second winner on the program.
“I actually thought he was going to need the run in tone and condition but he’s proven today he’s very tough and Linda rated him perfectly. It was a great result,” Krongold said.
“Three weeks into the prep, there’s plenty of improvement there. Hopefully it’s on to bigger and better things.”
The win came at Big Knight’s first run for Krongold, with the gelding previously trained by Chris Waller and then Dean Binaisse.
Big Knight has now won three races with one minor placing from 10 starts.
Hope on rise
In the following race at Swan Hill, Seymour apprentice Tahlia Hope continued her successful comeback from injury with a win aboard the Jim Lake-trained Storm Approach ($2.90 favourite).
The win was an early present for Hope, who celebrated her birthday on Sunday.
Trip yields happy result
Kyneton trainer George Osborne is not afraid to travel to place his team successfully, and he did it again last Friday at Corowa (NSW), 273 kilometres from home base.
The likeable trainer saddled up Reine Happy ($3.30 favourite) for a comfortable win in the $20,000 Corowa Golf Club Benchmark 65 Handicap (1200m).
Completing a running double for leading Riverina hoop Nick Souquet, the Good Journey six-year-old gelding defeated Tumult ($15) and Esprit Warrior ($3.50).
“He races a bit keenly,” Osborne said. “I would just love to stretch him out to 1400m and 1600m because he’d make a great sort of horse around this area, but he’s won over 1300m leading, so we might be thinking about that.
“The staff did a great job last week as he was almost going to the paddock but we got him right so it was great.”
Reine Happy, part-owned by Osborne, has now won five races with seven minor placings from his 21 starts.
Sell strikes twice
Kyneton trainer Mick Sell tripled his winning tally for the season with a double at Wangaratta on Tuesday.
Sell was successful with Madam Stryker ($4.20) and the impressive Carlingford ($4.40).
Madam Stryker, a four-year-old daughter of Stryker and Stagerush, made it two wins from her past three starts in taking out the $18,000 Julie Milson Memorial BM58 Handicap (2000m).
Ridden by the in-form Jamie Mott, the mare defeated $3.40 favourite Dakota by a half-length, with Al Gerard ($6.50) a further 2¾ lengths away third.
Madam Stryker is raced by a host of stable clients headed by the trainer’s wife, Mel.
The mare has a liking for the Wang track, having won her maiden at the corresponding meeting last year. She now has three wins and three minor placings from 24 starts.
The four-year-old Magnus gelding Carlingford, ridden by Craig Robertson, completed Sell’s double in the John Duncan Memorial BM64 Handicap (1000m).
The gelding defeated the Alicia Macpherson-trained Emerenta ($11) with $2.80 favourite Cash Crisis a further three-quarters of a length away third.
The win was the gelding’s third from 10 starts.
Arrogant win to Super Snob
Earlier on the Wang card, Whittlesea trainer Peter Morgan was successful with the impressive Super Snob ($2.40 favourite).
Giving apprentice Beau Mertens the first leg of a winning double, the Toorak Toff three-year-old filly was rewarded for her consistency in  taking out the $22,000 Ovens Ford Melbourne Cup Day Melbourne Cup Maiden (1400m), defeating Equus D’Oro by 4¼ lengths.
Racing in the Rosemont Stud colours, the filly is also part-owned by long-time stable clients Bruce and Jill Mathieson along with food distributor PFD’s Rick Smith.
The filly had four minor placings prior to her win, which came at her eighth start.