Three jockeys dominated the Healesville meeting last Saturday while the reigning Victorian picnic horse of the year took a step towards defending his title.
The meeting began strongly with a 1650-metre contest where six of the seven runners were already picnic winners this season.
It was the Tyson Barton-trained Kahungunu who came out on top under leading hoop Shaun Cooper, the nine-year-old Warhorse gelding bringing up his seventh win while carrying 5kg more than he did when successful at Alexandra in October.
Downtown Man was second and Nic Says No third, having already won two and three races respectively this season.
Later, Cooper was more passenger than pilot for his 13th win of the season aboard the Don Dwyer-trained Desert Boots, who bolted in by six lengths to join Nic Says No on three wins for ’25/26.
The Royal Meeting four-year-old sat just off the leader and took over at the 400m to run away for an easy win over the 1000m, having won by just shy of three lengths at Balnarring a week prior.
One makes it two
Cooper’s closest rival on the premiership this season is Sebastian Galea on seven wins, and he too was able to bag a brace at Healesville.
Galea never left the rails on the Troy Kilgower-trained Honey Slider to win the 1000-metre maiden and wearing down the leader, Reisner, for the Rebecca and Debbie Waymouth team.
In the last race Galea hopped back on to the Brooke Verwey-Mitchell-trained Annoy’en One, whose two-length win was his second for the season. 
Annoy’en One’s award-winning 2024/25 season yielded six wins, with Galea aboard for two of them.
Trip suits flashy Gemma
Craig Kirkpatrick was riding at just his second meeting of the season when he too brought up a double, highlighted by a special win for wife Stacey aboard a flashy-looking maiden winner.
Kirkpatrick settled the six-year-old mare Gemma Nascosta on the speed, with the pair taking over at the 400m and coming clear for a strong win over 1650m.
Gemma Nascosta is by the dual Group 3 winner and Blue Diamond runner-up Pariah out of the unraced Street Cry mare Street Groove.
A striking grey/chestnut with some white splotches, she caught the eye of Ciaron Maher at the Inglis Premier yearling sale of 2021, with the leading trainer paying $100,000 for her.
After three unplaced runs the mare was snapped up by the Kirkpatricks for $1500 in an online sale in June 2023.
It took until January this year for Gemma Nascosta to debut for the new stable, with a fifth at Mansfield followed by a seventh at Healesville. She placed at Yea second up in this campaign, breaking through last Saturday at her fourth run of the prep, her first beyond 1450 metres.
Kirkpatrick brought up his double on the Reece Goodwin-trained Mash And Gravy, who outstayed his rivals over 2350 metres at his second run for the stable, having run fourth at Stony Creek in a 0-56 handicap six days earlier.
A five-year-old by Tosen Stardom, Mash And Gravy won one of 22 for Daryl Cannon before Goodwin purchased the gelding for $1500 via Inglis Digital on November 19.
Picnic action in Victoria heads to Woolamai this Saturday followed by Drouin’s traditional Boxing Day meeting then Alexandra on December 27.
Merton races on New Year’s Day and Woolamai on January 3.