Promising juvenile Valley Star rounded out an excellent first campaign with a dominant win in the $45,000 Tasmanian Sires’ Produce (1380m) at Hobart last Sunday.
The Leanne Gaffney-trained Widden Valley gelding tracked his stablemate and only conqueror thus far, Buzzoffski, throughout before putting paid to that filly early in the straight and careering away to score by 3¾ lengths under in-form apprentice Kirra-Lee Lane.
The $7000 purchase has now netted $108,000 with two wins and two seconds from his four starts.
Dual premiership-winning hoop Anthony Darmanin took riding honours at the meeting with a brace of wins kicked off by the Rodney Seymour-prepared Gold Tianna, who finished hard from worse than midfield for an overdue maiden win over 1380 metres.
Darmanin made it a running double with victory on the Glenn Stevenson-trained Merlin Beach, who came from just off the pace and dug deep to hold off the late charge of race favourite Don Turboas in the maiden/Class 1 plate over 1600 metres.
Fittingly, in the week she announced that she wouldn’t be renewing her jockey’s licence, Siggy Carr unearthed a potentially smart one in John Of Jane, who took the opening event on the card, an open-age maiden plate over 1200 metres.
The gelded son of Needs Further jumped straight to the front under Troy Baker and was able to control the tempo before booting clear for a super impressive 5½-length win at his first appearance.
Elsewhere on the card Victorian apprentice Tayla Cameron notched her first local win on the John Keys-prepared Rubbleonthedouble, who proved too strong despite having little luck from a wide gate in the open handicap over 1380 metres.
The Toorak Toff gelding has returned from a break in fine fettle, having now won two from three this time in.