Apprentice Kirra-Lee Lane and veteran hoop Kelvin Sanderson shared riding honours at the first meeting of the Tasmanian new season at Hobart on Wednesday, each securing a running double.
Lane’s first success came via Shaun Nichols’s promising charge Sh’bourne Power, who stalked the speed before proving too strong in the Class 2 handicap over 1390 metres.
The sparingly raced five-year-old by Squamosa has now won the last three of his five appearances and should continue to progress through the grades.
In-form two-kilo claimer Lane completed her double aboard Imogen Miller’s classy mare Alvarinho, who stormed home from the back to take the day’s feature, a $35,000 open handicap over 1200 metres.
The multiple stakes-placed daughter of Tough Speed displayed encouraging second-up improvement and looked over the odds at $5.50 in a six-horse field.
Sanderson opened his account on Kelvin Hamilton’s recent stable addition Honest Warrior, who finished off strongly from midfield to take the maiden/Class 1 plate over 1600 metres.
The former Joe Cleary representative had hit the line hard and just missed at healthy odds when out to 1380 metres at his second Tasmanian outing and relished the further rise in trip on Wednesday.
The “Iceman” then combined with promising young trainer Liam Beamish to take the benchmark 60 handicap over the same trip with Henley Extreme, who also finished off hard from midfield.
Beamish has made an excellent start to his training career, having now prepared four winners from just seven starters. The last three he’s saddled up have all been successful.