Eleven-year-old gelding Hawkestone improved on last year’s third placing to win last Sunday’s $10,000 Balnarring Cup, his first win over the 1600-metre distance in seven attempts.
Almost 5000 racegoers crammed into Balnarring racecourse on a bright and sunny Australia Day and it’s fair to say they got their money’s worth.
They were treated to a very popular winner of the feature race, with the veteran of the field notching win number six of his 85-start career, to go with 26 minor placings.
Hawkestone is one of only two horses in work for Cranbourne trainer Neville Aulich, who bred the son of Bushranger from his three-time winning Black Hawk mare Cutie Bird.
The gelding, who started fifth favourite at $8 in a wide-open 10-horse field, won comfortably by two lengths from last-start Drouin Cup winner and $4 favourite Chaichna with the 2022 Balnarring Cup winner, See It All ($10), bouncing back to form to run third.
Hawkestone has been a model of consistency through the years. Although he’s often found one or two better than him, he certainly deserved his moment in the sun on Sunday winning a big race. 
As did promising picnic rider Sophie Clayfield, who is in her third season and secured her second feature win, having taken out last year’s Buchan Cup on Wiesenbach as a two-kilo claimer.
The cup made it a double for Clayfield, who’d earlier steered the Dani Walker-trained Our Dawny ($5.50) to her second win of the season, following a Mansfield victory a fortnight earlier.
She now has 21 winners from 110 rides.
New firm off to a flyer
Troy Kilgower no longer has his great mate and leading rider Grant Seccombe to call on but didn’t break stride at Balnarring, training the first two winners.
A week after Seccombe’s retirement, Kilgower called on the services of young gun Sebastian Galea to ride all six of his runners and the relationship started with a bang.
The pair took out the opener with Sheer Grunt ($5), a four-year-old Grunt mare who won her maiden at Woolamai only two runs earlier. She is building nicely early in her career.
Another up-and-comer for the stable won race two, Shooting To Win mare Sara Perche Tiamo ($2.20 favourite) improving on her debut for the stable when second at Woolamai to bolt in by three lengths in maiden grade at Balnarring.
Wisdom prevails
Tyson Barton’s good form continued at Balnarring, the dual-licence holder  coming away with a winner and a second from his three runners as a trainer.
Barton didn’t ride on Sunday, leaving those duties to Shaun Cooper and Caitlin King.
Cooper got the job done on in-form sprinter War Of Wisdom ($3.90), who came up trumps in a blanket finish to the 1008-metre open trophy, and finished runner-up on Dream Of Ruby behind Sara Perche Tiamo.
Barton’s cup runner, 11-year-old Chestnut Thunder, finished a game fifth.