Miss Caitlyn continued her dominance over New England racing on Australia Day.
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The 5-year-old mare notched her fourth consecutive victory this preparation with an emphatic four-length win in Monday’s Walcha Cup Prelude at the Armidale Jockey Club over 1300 metres.
The Paddy Cunningham-trained runner sat in just behind the leaders for the majority of the race before apprentice Jodi Worley let her loose at the top of the straight and the rest of the field were no match.
Worley let up in the final 50 metres and Miss Caitlyn ($8) still won by a whopping four lengths from Power Receiver ($10) and Keep It Danish ($5). Armidale trainer Paul Grills’ Beyond Infinity ($5.50) was fourth.
Miss Caitlyn impressed many on track with her stunning win, none more so than Armidale Jockey Club secretary Jim Dedes.
“That’s her fourth win in a row,” he said.
“I don’t know if she is going to Walcha [Cup] or not, but if she does she will be pretty hard to beat.”
A bumper crowd was expected for the Australia Day meeting, but with light rain falling throughout the day, numbers were down on initial estimates.
“The rain did keep a few away,” Dedes said. “But it was still a great day and a pretty good crowd.”
The rain had little effect on the track with the rating staying at a good four throughout the meeting.
“The rain didn’t effect it much at all, it has a pretty good grass covering on it,” Dedes said.
Aside from Miss Caitlyn’s terrific run, there was another horse who impressed Dedes.
John McNair’s Aussie Kim extended her unbeaten record at Armidale to three with a two-length win in the benchmark 55 handicap over 1100 metres.
“She’s three from three here, she just loves Armidale,” Dedes said of McNair’s six-year-old mare. Ken Martin was the only Armidale trainer to notch a win on the day, with his gelding Go Dragon winning the third.