Strathalbyn trainer Grant Kluske has made a habit of winning at least one city race every year, and he got the monkey off his back for 2025 when Isuspectjeu ($5.50) won the Class 2 Sportsbet Race Previews Handicap (1550m) on the Parks track at Morphettville last Saturday.
Kluske has won in town every calendar year except 2017 since Go Dreaming broke through for him on Caulfield Cup day 2014. He has 18 city winners overall.
Isuspectjeu raced behind the pace under apprentice Brooke King last Saturday, besting odds-on favourite Beautiful Jewel by three-quarters of a length.
Kluske said he’d look for a similar race next start for the five-year-old daughter of Unusual Suspect.
Port, Palm shine for Stokes
Phillip Stokes stretched his lead in the Adelaide premiership to four with a double at the Parks meeting, both his winners ridden by Jacob Opperman.
They combined with Portarlington ($2 favourite) in a four-horse two-year-old race over 1000 metres and Palm Of Jumeirah ($5) in a 1250-metre bencmark 68 heat of the Viddora series for fillies and mares.
Opperman remains seven wins behind leading hoop Jason Holder, who maintained his buffer with a double of his own.
Holder won a benchmark 78 heat of the Happy Trails series over 1550 metres on Dual Pressure ($4.20) for the Gawler stable of Aaron Bain and Ned Taylorand a benchmark 78 heat of the Skybeau series over 2250 metres on Guru Warrior ($1.70 favourite) for local trainer Andrew Gluyas.
The other jockey to double up at the Parks meeting was talented apprentice Caitlin Tootell, who won a benchmark 66 over 1250 metres on Ginger Sinner ($4.40) for Paula Trenwith and a 1550-metre 0-58 on Shisuta Bo ($2.90 favourite) for Travis Doudle.
Storm snares cup
Caitlin Tootell kept up the good work at Strathalbyn the following day, winning the first two maidens on local horses — Ruled By Thieves ($5) for Scott Whittle and Big Rita June ($7) for Lewis and Eliza Grantham. 
Later on the card Matthew Chadwick took the third heat of the Montgomerie/Forrest apprentices series on the Emma Hubbard-trained Grinzinger Ace ($2.90 favourite).
Jake Toeroek scored his first winner back from six weeks on the sidelines when the Richard and Chantelle Jolly-trained Dancing Storm ($2.60 favourite) won the benchmark 72 Langhorne Creek Wine Region Vignerons Cup (1350m).
Border braces
Murray Bridge trainer Garret Lynch and hoops Kayla Crowther and Connor Murtagh were the stars of last Friday’s Bordertown fixture with a double apiece.
Crowther won on the Jeff Searle-trained Bolshoi Babe ($3.40) in a 1200-metre maiden and the Mitch Freedman-prepared Gold Topaz ($1.22 favourite) in a Class 1 plate over 2000 metres.
Murtagh won on the Sarah Rutten-trained Imposing Suspect ($3.60) in a heat of the Country Mile Series and the Lynch-trained Blue Special ($3.90 favourite) in 0-54 company over 1550 metres.  
Lynch completed his double when Sophie Metcalfe guided Costless ($7) to victory in 0-54 grade over 1100 metres.