Emotions overflowed in the Morphettville mounting yard after the first-up win of seven-year-old gelding Queman in the Group 3 Behemoth Stakes over 1200 metres last Saturday. 
Queman had been sidelined by a sesamoid injury since April 2024, and hadn’t won since taking the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield in February of that year.
With Connor Murtagh aboard, the Shane and Cassie Oxlade-trained Queman defied a betting drift ($5.50-$8.50) to lead all the way in the Behemoth, holding on to beat the Ciaron Maher-trained Recommendation by a neck.
An emotional Shane Oxlade said credit for Queman’s successful return must go to former jockey Lauren Stojakovic, who rides all of the gelding’s trackwork and “knows him better than anyone”.
The win of Queman completed a double for the Woodchester-based father-daughter stable, who’d opened their account with last-start winner Captain Happy ($3.30 favourite), who took the benchmark 66 for three-year-olds over 1050 metres with in-form apprentice Matthew Chadwick aboard. 
Doubles for Stubby, Rochelle
Newly crowned Adelaide premier hoop Rochelle Milnes shared the riding honours at Morphettville with 2015/16 premier Jason Holder, the pair opening their metro accounts for the season with a double apiece. 
Milnes won in 0-66 grade over 1508 metres on Talisay ($5) for local trainer Byron Cozamanis and took a 1600-metre Class 2 on $2.20 favourite Tropical House for Victor Harbor’s Jake Stephens.
Holder won the 1600-metre benchmark 78 handicap on Merchant Boss ($8.50) for Travis Doudle and the Thomas Farms 0-64 Handicap (1050m) on Nostryia ($19) for newly minted Balaklava trainer Kate Halliday.
Nostryia was the third runner and first winner for Halliday, an accomplished horsewoman with a string of honours to her name on the equestrian scene.
Heart, Hajra lead Clarken treble
Sellicks Hill-based Will Clarken has readjusted quickly to life as a solo trainer, shooting to the top of the Adelaide premiership with a treble at last Saturday’s Morphettville meeting. 
Clarken scored with Peta’s Heart ($2.50 favourite) in a 2008-metre benchmark 78, Hajra ($2.80 favourite) in a one-metro-win-last-year affair over 1050 metres and Clarence ($10) in a 1200-metre benchmark 66.
Taylor Johnstone, Ben Price and Kayla Crowther were the respective winning jockeys. Crowther’s swooping win on Clarence was her first since returning a week earlier from a fractured collarbone suffered in April at Murray Bridge.
Niki O’Shea, Clarken’s training partner until the recent change of seasons, has been in his native Ireland and is yet to have his first Australian runner as a solo trainer.
McEvoy joins hall
Congratulations to Ballarat trainer Tony McEvoy on being inducted to the South Australian Racing Hall of Fame. 
McEvoy started his career as an apprentice to Bill Holland at Streaky Bay before joining Colin Hayes at Lindsay Park. He won his first major race for Hayes on Deesse in the 1977 SA Oaks. 
With 100 wins to his name, weight issues saw him turn to training.
He has since racked up 2400 winners, 16 of them at Group 1 level, five of those in partnership with son Calvin. 

Pannell treble
Todd Pannell kicked his season into gear on Wednesday with three winners in consecutive races at Murray Bridge. Pannell won on Anthracite ($2.10 favourite), Hypernova ($3.10 favourite) and Hooked On Wealth ($4.40). Jake Toeroek won the next two races on Scandalize ($6 favourite) and Prodigal Lad ($4.20).
Wayne Francis and Glen Kent, who prepare Hooked On Wealth and Prodigal Lad, took the training honours.