Shaun Cooper made the most of his last ride for two weeks by collecting a four-timer at Healesville last Saturday.
The leading hoop won’t ride this Saturday at Woolamai or at Balnarring the following week after incurring a suspension at Yea on November 15, but he holds a six-win advantage over his nearest rival on the premiership after a day out at Healesville.
The Rachael Cunningham-trained Gone Walkabout got Cooper’s day kick-started when she broke her maiden at start four in race one.
By Royal Meeting, the same sire as Blue Diamond Stakes winner Hayasugi, Gone Walkabout was a $2500 Magic Millions Adelaide yearling.
The first leg of a Shaun Cooper-Don Dwyer double at Healesville was the third winner, Cesar Bessan. The Nostradamus gelding carried 5½kg more than he did to victory at the same track three weeks prior, but it didn’t matter.
The pair also combined in the last race with the resuming Wilma Wombat, who won well at her first run since mid-April, having won at Mansfield, Healesville and Dederang last season.
Cooper was also victorious on last season’s Horse of the Year, Annoy’en One. The Brooke Verwey-Mitchell-trained gelding won six times on the circuit last season. After unplaced runs at Traralgon and Mornington he relished the drop back in class on Saturday.
Seb goes bang at Bong
Sebastian Galea sits second behind Cooper on the premiership in Victoria, but he had bragging rights 24 hours earlier when he took out the $20,000 Bong Bong Cup (1560m) at the iconic NSW racetrack.
Galea partnered Irish-bred gelding Valentine John to a narrow victory, with both trainer Anthony Warren and horse doing a great job considering the six-year-old backed up from a Jericho Cup qualifier at Geelong over 3762m a week earlier.
A runner-up over 3200 metres two weeks before the Geelong run, Valentine John was not expected to have enough dash in his legs last Friday and was sent around an $11 chance, but proved too good for the Andrew Dale-trained $3.60 favourite and runner-up San Marco. 
Cooper rode the Dale-trained Bellman in the Cup and missed a place, but the pair combined for victory earlier on the day in the open sprint, with Mojo Music bolting in by 5¼ lengths.
Wangaratta’s Ashleigh Smith was another winning trainer at Bong Bong with her Aylmerton gelding Besson, a winner at Alexandra in October.