Last Saturday at Hawkesbury was a memorable one for country and provincial trainers, with four of their number winning races on the 10-race program including the $250,000 Group 3 Hawkesbury Gold Cup (1600m). 
The Nathan Doyle-trained four-year-old mare Churchill’s Choice, first emergency for the cup, started at $26 but defied the odds by charging home late under Regan Bayliss to nail Palmetto close to the line. 
“She actually finished second in the Queensland Guineas this day last year,” Newcastle-based Doyle pointed out. 
“She’s been a bit frustrating because she’s always had the ability but never won a stakes race so it’s great for her owner Kevin Hill, who’s been quite crook up in Brisbane. 
“She was super first up and I thought plain second up so we freshened her right up and went back to the trials. We brought Regan up to trial her and it all panned out well. 
“She was pretty wide today. We thought the centre lanes were the place to be but Regan summed it up perfectly. A terrific ride.”
Bayliss was similarly pleased.
“The plan was to be within striking distance today and I had a lovely run three deep with cover,” he said.
“It’s a long straight here at Hawkesbury but she really quickened through her gears and fended them off late. It was a good, tough win.”
Doyle announced that the mare will be kept fresh following the win and set for next Friday’s listed Scone Cup over the same trip, a Big Dance eligibility race.
300 up for Nock
The other feature to fall to a non-metro stable was the previous race, the Group 3 Hawkesbury Crown (1300m) for fillies and mares, won by five-year-old mare Chidiac ($4.80) for the Scone-based father/daughter training partnership of Brett and Georgie Cavanough. 
The mare, ridden by stable apprentice Braith Nock, hit the front inside the final 100 metres and looked to have the race won until Surfin’ Bird burst through late to miss in a photo finish. 
“I was absolutely bolting coming to the 600 metres and she really quickened up,” Nock said. “I thought I was in a little bit of trouble late but she showed her toughness. 
“She runs a strong 1400 metres so she was there right to the end. She’s beautiful.” 
It was a memorable win for Nock, the 300th of his career. 
Brett Cavanough said he’d diverged from normal practice with Chidiac.
“It was stepping over the line for me because I like to keep them graded but obviously with mares you have to step out of your zone into black type,” he said. 
“If they get the job done like she has, they’re very valuable.”
Alaska stays unbeaten
Earlier, the 1500-metre Class 2 TAB Highway Handicap (1500m) saw $2.70 favourite Oakfield Alaska bring up his third win in as many starts, but not before giving connections and his backers some anxious moments. 
Trained by Scott Singleton at Scone, the three-year-old took a while to hit top gear in the straight before charging late to nail Shyamalan right on the line, winning by a nose. 
“I wasn’t really sure to be honest on the line,” said jockey Mikayla Weir. “I thought the 1500 metres today might still be too short for him but he arrived just on time. 
“He’s a good horse. It was a very tough win. 
The winner will now be set for another Highway, over 1600 metres at Scone on Saturday week, and should prove very hard to beat given the extra 100 metres.
Bella goes bang
The other non-metro winner at Hawkesbury was a local, Bella Khadijah ($7.50) taking the benchmark 72 Midway Handicap over 1500 metres for Brad Widdup to kick off a riding double for Braith Nock.
Nock was able to keep his mount on the better part of the track before charging home late to claim Cosmeena and win drawing away by a half-length. 
“I think how the track is playing played in her favour,” Widdup said. 
“She was great. She’s a good finisher. We haven’t seen her do it for a while but we put the blinkers back on today and the way the race panned out suited her for sure.”
Yak attack
Biggest surprise of last Sunday’s Dubbo meeting on Sunday came in the $50,000 Super Maiden (1200m), with chestnut filly Yakamoz scoring under Mathew Cahill for Cowra trainer Andrew Molloy.
Coming off a 13-length last of eight at Narromine, Yakamoz started at $101 but got the better of $1.35 favourite Marinera in the final stages to score by three-quarters of a length.
Get to Gosford 
Another $50,000 Super Maiden over 1200 metres will be the highlight at Coffs Harbour this Friday, while Saturday sees the Gosford Race Club hold its biggest meeting of the year, with three listed races on the 10-race program — the $500,000 Coast (1600m), the $300,000 Gosford Gold Cup (2100m) and the $250,000 Takeover Target Stakes (1200m).
The same day sees country cups at Leeton in the Riverina, where the feature is over 1600 metres, and at Quambone in the state’s north west, where the Marthaguy Picnic Cup (1400m) will be the highlight. 
The following day at Moruya there’ll be another $50,000 Super Maiden, also over 1200 metres.