Barring any unforeseen happenings with just seven weeks of the season left, dual-state trainer Phillip Stokes looks set to take the Adelaide title after the win of The Doll in the Adelaide Galvanising Industries 0-64 Handicap (1100m) for fillies and mares at Morphettville last Saturday.
Richard and Chantelle Jolly, premiers in 2021/22 and 2022/23, bounced back with a dead-heat win in the following event but Stokes maintains a 9½-win buffer, 39 wins to 29½.
With Todd Pannell aboard, The Doll ($11) came from worse than midfield to beat Victorian raider Ichiberu ($11) by a length. Punters preferred Stokes’s other runner, Palm Of Jumeirah ($2.60 favourite), but she could only manage third, a further three-quarters of a length away.
The Jollys’ dead-heater was Deepfloat Diva ($3.60), who hit the line locked together with the Darryl Hewitt-trained Sir Now ($3.30 favourite) in the Celebrating Michael Ferraro 70th Birthday Handicap (1050m), a benchmark 76.
Again Jason Warren (trainer of Ichiberu) had to settle for a minor placing as Cheerstothat was a whisker away from the dead-heaters in third. Officially 1.09 lengths covered the first six across the line.
Jake Toeroek and apprentice Margaret Collett respectively rode Deepfloat Diva and Sir Now.
A couple for Connor
While Connor Murtagh rode both Jason Warren’s minor placgetters, it was a positive day for the English expat, who bookended the meeting for other trainers.
Murtagh kicked off by winning the 1100-metre benchmark 64 for two-year-olds on the Travis Doudle-trained Golden Horizon ($13), who was coming off a debut second at Balaklava and led all the way.
He closed the meeting by coming from near last for a narrow win in the 1600-metre benchmark 64 on The Golden Fist ($6) for Murray Bridge’s Garret Lynch.
Lookin’ good
Andrew Gluyas landed the first leg of a running double at the Morphettville meeting when Lovely Lookin’ ($1.95 favourite) won the Thomas Farms Handicap (1200m), restricted to horses with one metro win in the last year.
Apprentice Taylor Johnstone brought Lovely Lookin’ from two off the pace to win by a length.
Gluyas followed up with three-year-old gelding Bouncing Beyond ($16) in 0-64 company over 1100 metres, completing a double for jockey Jason Holder.
Part-owned and bred by his former co-trainer Leon Macdonald, Bouncing Beyond ran on from better than midfield to register his third win at his 11th start.
Holder had earlier scored on Beach Pad ($2.40 favourite) in a benchmark 76 over 2042 metres for the Gawler stable of Aaron Bain and Ned Taylor.
Stead breaks drought
Well done to jockey Andrew Stead on winning his first city race in 12 years, a benchmark 66 over 1533 metres on Tropical House ($31) for Victor Harbor trainer Jake Stephens.
Stead’s last city winner had been Oamaru Princess at Sandown on March 6, 2013.
Brewster goes bang
Trainer Garret Lynch and jockey Sairyn Fawke joined forces to win last Saturday’s Hawker Cup (1750m) with Doctor Robert ($3.50) but it was apprentice Polly Brewster who was the meeting’s star with a consecutive treble.  
Brewster endeared herself to favourite backers by winning the first two races on Sengoki ($2.20) and Hebrings Cash ($3.80) for Clare trainer Danny Penna then made it three from three on More Sugar ($4.60) for Port Augusta’s Waylon Hornhardt.
In the meeting’s other highligh, apprentice Sophie Potter scoring at her first race ride, on Django Express ($4.50) for Port Augusta trainer Brendon Davis. Potter is the daughter of senior jockey Justin, who finished last on Alekhine’s Gun in the same race.  

Midweek wrap
Apprentice Felicity Atkinson and senior rider Jake Toeroek shared the honours with a double apiece at Balaklava on Wednesday.
Atkinson won in 0-56 grade over 1050 metres on the David Halliday-trained local Lakehurst ($21) and over 1400 metres on the George Karayannis-trained Immortal Spirit ($10).
Toeroek won outright on the Richard and Chantelle Jolly-trained Caladan ($1.30 favourite) in a 1050-metre maiden plate and dead-heated on the Kristi Evans-trained Back Me Up Benny ($2.45 favourite) with the Roslyn Day-trained, Andrew Stead-ridden Kirkliston Blu ($5.50) in a 2200-metre benchmark 56.