Bathurst trainer Dean Mirfin proved that perseverance does indeed pay off when his galloper Marenaro won the Class 2 TAB Highway Handicap over 1500 metres at Rosehill last Saturday.
Marenaro was Mirfin’s 60th TAB Highway starter and his first winner in the series.
Jockey Nash Rawiller settled his mount well back in the field before pulling out to the centre of the track once in the straight, to make his run.
Marenaro ($12-$10) responded gamely to Rawiller’s hard riding  to claim Hulu just before the post, winning by a half-neck with the favourite Due Calzini a length further away in third place.
“I think I had the dubious record of having the most runners in Highways without winning one,” Mirfin said. “We had a lot of seconds but no wins.
As for Saturday’s win he said: “I kind of expected to be back in running and I said to Nash, ‘We’re going to need a lot of luck to win this race,’ but he just rode the horse perfectly and timed his run.
“I thought halfway down the straight he might run top-five, then I thought he might run a place. The last bit I started screaming a bit. It was great.”
Two to follow
At the Kembla Grange meeting the same afternoon, the John Thompson-trained three-year-old Lugarno posted an impressive win under Alysha Collett in the $60,000 Super Maiden (1600m).
Sent out a $2 favourite on the back of four placings from his previous six starts, Lugarno never looked in danger of defeat, racing away to a 3¾-length win over San Gabriel with Ocean Diva a half-neck further away in third place.
Two races later, Collett was back in the winner’s circle again, having steered odds-on favourite Tenbury Wells to a dominant 3¼-length win in the 2000-metre Class 1 for Hawkesbury trainer Brad Widdup.
War Ribbon ran second with Okami Star a further three lengths away in third place.
Both winners look to have bright futures given the ease of their wins and the fact that both are just three-year-olds.
Around the traps
Gilgandra gelding Foxstorm was far too good for his rivals in last Saturday’s Come-By-Chance Cup at one of the state’s iconic picnic meetings.
The Ashley Gibson-trained Foxstorm ($4.60) careered away to an impressive 5¾-length win over Dynastic with a further length to third-placegetter Celtic Halo. The winner was ridden by Zara Lewis, who brought up a double when she rode Yet Tobe A Cod to victory in the final race on the program for Cowra trainer Debbie Prest.
Despite Lewis’s double, it was Leandro Ribeiro who claimed riding honours, with two of his three winners coming for Dubbo trainer Connie Greig.
At the Grenfell non-TAB meeting the same afternoon, the feature race, the 2000-metre Grenfell Cup went the way of the David Blundell-trained Gundagai gelding Shafty ($3.20 equal favourite), ridden by Ken Dunbar. Jin Chi Phantom and Kiss The Bride filled the minor placings. The win brought up a double for Dunbar.
On a five-race program at Jerilderie the same day, the 1400-metre Jerilderie Cup was won by the Chris Davis-trained Victorian raider Jayzeal, ridden by apprentice Amy O’Driscoll.
Shock: Sneak’s back
At Dubbo last Sunday there was a boilover in the feature race of the afternoon, the Dubbo Gold Cup (1600m) falling to the Peter Nestor-trained local Sneak Preview ($71), ridden by Kody Nestor.
Kody Nestor had trained Sneak Preview for several years until he moved to the Queensland stable of David Vandyke, for whom he won six races.
But he was unplaced at his last nine starts for Vandyke. Last Sunday’s run was his first run back with the Nestor family, this time Kody’s uncle Peter.
This race was a Big Dance Eligibility race, so the winner could be shooting for a big payday come the first Tuesday in November.
Earlier on the program, the 1400-metre Super Maiden was won by Check Your Six ($7.50), trained at Bathurst by Roy McCabe and ridden by Alysha Collett.
The $75,000 XXXX Gold Vincent Gordon Flying Handicap (1100m) went to $3.20 favourite Gallant Star, trained locally by Brett Robb and ridden by Tyler Schiller.
What a weekend
This Friday sees a triple treat for fans of NSW country racing with meetings at Moruya, Dubbo and Lockhart.
Feature on the six-race card at Lockhart will be the time-honoured Verandah Town Cup over 1400 metres.
At Dubbo there will be a 1300-metre Super Maiden carrying $50,000 in prizemoney. There’s a also a Super Maiden at Moruya, this one over 1200 metres, while  the $50,000 Legend Of The South (1300m) is the day’s highlight.
Saturday sees meetings at Armidale, Mudgee, Newcastle, Tabulam and Wagga.
It’s cup day at Tabulam, with the feature over 1400 metres, while the highlight at Wagga is the 1800-metre Wagga Picnic Cup, a heat of the Wagga Stayers Series.
Sunday sees racing at Ballina as well as cup days at Cootamundra and the Mungery picnics. At Cootamundra the cup is over 1600 metres, while the Mungery Cup is over 1750.
There’s just the one country meeting on Monday’s public holiday, at Muswellbrook, featuring the 1280-metre Denman Cup and 900-metre Denman Dash.