By David Nagel
Racing resumed at the picturesque Woolamai racecourse on Saturday with several standout performances from jockeys and trainers the highlight of the six-race card.
Patrons who braved the early drizzle were treated to a great day of racing and a rain-free afternoon at the track.
Moe-based jockey Grant Seccombe landed a winning treble to get away to a flying start in the Woolamai jockeys’ premiership for the 2024/25 season.
Seccombe rode all three winners for Sale trainer Troy Kilgower, and began his afternoon on the right track with victory aboard Combustion in the first race on the program.
Seccombe then shared the spotlight with jockey Melinda McDonald, who scored a race-to-race double in races two and three.
McDonald won the Don ‘Duck’ Matheson Memorial Handicap with a runaway win aboard Sacra for ex-jumps jockey Jason Evans.
She then made it back-to-back wins on the well-bred six-year-old mare Chanting Rhythm for popular Bunyip trainer Paul Kramer and his wife Heidi.
“I picked her up in a sale out of the paddock and worked on a few aspects of her style over winter,” Kramer explained post-race.
“She had some good recent trials against horses from top stables and that gave me confidence she would be in for a good season.”
Seccombe then joined McDonald with a winning double when he partnered Lisieux to victory in race four, before trainer Peter Foster and popular jockey Leigh Taylor took out the main race on the program with Lika Mosh.
A seven-year-old mare by Moshe, Lika Mosh has now three of her four starts this preparation.
She has now won races at Yea, Healesville and Woolamai, with a second at Yea her only hiccup through spring.
The win was a popular one for Taylor, whose 2023/24 season came to an early end via a back injury.
Kilgower and Seccombe then rubber-stamped a great day at the track when High Ferocity scored an easy win in the last.
The next meeting at Woolamai is on Saturday 21 December and bookings can be made through the club’s website: woolamairaces.com.au
