In-form apprentice Braith Nock proved the go-to guy for provincial and country trainers in the first two races at Hawkesbury’s metro-class program last Saturday.
The two-kilo claimer kicked off with victory in the benchmark 72 Midway (1500m) aboard Jumeirah Beach ($6) for Newcastle’s Jason Deamer, overcoming trouble on the home turn.
“The run presented and I anticipated to take it and then it closed up,” Nock said. 
“Once he copped that big bump and got spat out, I thought he’d (just) go to the line nicely but he lifted late and got over the top of them. 
Juneirah Beach scored by a long head from Northern Eyes, who tried hard, with Gold Pattern three-quarters of a length away in third place. 
Next, Nock took the Class 2 TAB Highway Handicap over the same trip on $4.40 favourite Canadian Ruler, trained at Goulburn by Matthew Dale. 
Things panned out better this time for Nock, who quickly had his mount perfectly positioned one out and one back. 
Approaching the 200 metre mark, Nock drove his mount to the front. Canadian Ruler then defied the challenge of Pharoahzano to win by a half-length with Craft a further length away in third place. 
“He landed there so easily and I was happy to let one go around me,” Nock said. “He felt a little bit uncomfortable through the middle, so I let him relax and made him pick it back up again. 
“It was looking a bit sticky to get out so I had to cut the corner and get him out. He really quickened. I thought he quickened quite sharply.”
The news wasn’t all good for Nock at Hawkesbury, with the stewards rubbing him out for careless riding on Jumeirah Beach. 
The bright side is that he will have served his suspension in time to ride at his home Scone Cup carnival on May 16 and 17.
Bandit bags the cup
Punters were on the ball in the previous day’s Wagga Wagga Gold Cup (2000m), with $4.60 favourite Flying Bandit prevailing for Kembla Grange trainer Kerry Parker and jockey Jay Ford. 
The main supporting race, the 1600-metre MTC Guineas for three-year-olds, went to Star Turn filly Dupli Kate ($4.40), trained at Canberra by Norm Gardner and ridden by Blaike McDougall. 
The benchmark 66 Queen Of The South (1400m) for fillies and mares saw Prophet’s Daughter ($12) fly home to grab $1.80 favourite Bon Holler in the shadows of the post. Prophet’s Daughter is trained at Albury by Ron Stubbs and was ridden by Jason Lyon.
Earlier, the $50,000 Super Maiden (1200m) saw three-year-old filly Hell Of A Fox ($5), trained at Canberra by Luke Pepper and ridden by Brodie Loy, win by a length from $1.50 favourite Me Me. 
On the same afternoon at Muswellbrook, the $50,000 Super Maiden (1000m) saw the Brett Cavanough-trained Scone three-year-old Signatories ($4.20) career away to record a 5¼-length win over Jakubik. 
While this was a five-horse maiden and the $2.20 favourite lost his rider, the winner is in a very strong stable, could not have been more impressive and should pay to follow. 
Cavanough and Nock then combined to win a further two races on the eight-race program. Outside of Nock, Aaron Bullock fared best of the jockeys with a winning double, easing the pain of having come off He’sthechief early on the card. 
Around the traps
Last Saturday’s provincial card at Newcastle saw local trainer Kris Lees and jockey Andrew Gibbons combine to land a winning double, while at Casino the same afternoon Danny Peisley and Noriyuki Masuda rode a double apiece. 
One winner at the Casino meeting really stood out for me and that was the Margaret De Gonneville-trained Golden Breeze ($11) in the 1400-metre benchmark 50. 
I’ve written before in this column about De Gonneville’s achievements as a thoroughbred trainer and equestrian, so all I can say is congratulations once again. 
At the non-TABs that day, Dupenny ($6) won the Binnaway Cup (1300m) for Gulgong trainer Brett Thompson and jockey Andrew Banks, while the Boorowa Picnic Cup (1700m) went to $1.80 favourite Thunder Force.
It’s not surprising that Thunder Force started short as he’s from the powerhouse Victorian stable of Leon and Troy Corstens and Matt Larkin, who rarely have runners at the picnics. The powerhouse picnic team of Connie Greig and Leandro Ribeiro had to settle for second with Pahang ($3.20), with the winner ridden by Sebastian Galea. 
Scone trainer Rod Northam and apprentice Leeshelle Small combined for a double at Dubbo on Sunday, while Aaron Bullock shared the riding honours with a double of his own. 
The $50,000 Super Maiden (1200m) went to $1.30 favourite Proper Twelve, trained by Brett Robb and ridden by Clayton Gallagher.
Central Coast corker
All eyes this Saturday will be on Gosford for the club’s major meeting of the year, featuring three listed races — the $500,000 Coast (1600m) for three- and four-year-olds, the $300,000 Gosford Gold Cup (2100m) and the $250,000 Takeover Target Stakes (1200m). 
Saturday’s picnic action is in the state’s north at Quambone, where the main race is the Marthaguy Picnic Cup (1400m).