Wimmera: Meech coaxes best out of overdue Du
By Josh Mackay, November 13, 2018 - 9:34 AM

The Stawell stable of Terry and Karina O’Sullivan ended a frustrating run of placings with Du To Pass when the three-year-old broke through as a $1.85 favourite at last Sunday’s Ararat Cup/China Bowl meeting. 
With leading rider Linda Meech in the saddle for the Ararat Rural City Maiden Plate (1300m) and sporting blinkers for the first time, Du To Pass sat handy in the run. 
The Duporth gelding was caught up in traffic before the turn, but a run soon opened up and once Du To Pass saw daylight, he was strong to the line, saluting by a length and a quarter. 
The win came at start number six for Du To Pass, who had opened his current campaign with three successive seconds.
Artiste wins acclaim
Horsham trainer Paul Preusker kept up his consistent form with a winner on the Ararat program also, courtesy of The Great Artiste ($8.50) in the Ararat RSL BM64 Handicap (1600m). 
Ridden by Fred Kersley, The Great Artiste found himself at the tail of the field in the early stages. 
However, Kersley produced a rails-hugging ride in the straight to ensure The Great Artiste found the shortest way home, the five-year-old winning by a length. 
The gelding is proving a handy money-spinner, having won four of his 10 starts for $51,815, and looks to have a bright future ahead.
The Great Artiste was Preusker’s 13th winner for 2018/19.
Weir sweeps features
Fresh from six winners at the Flemington carnival, Darren Weir returned to his old stamping ground in the Wimmera and swept Sunday’s Ararat features.
Weir won the $70,000 Ararat Gold Cup (2000m) with Andrea Mantegna ($3.70) and the $82,000 China Bowl with Choisborder ($2.80) under jockeys John Allen and Harry Coffey respectively. 

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