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Wagga Wagga based Darrell Burnet, a relative newcomer to the trainers' ranks who landed his first winner in 2021, has already become well established and achieved one of his best results on Sunday when his six-year-old gelding Astunner won the $40,000 Parkes Services Club-Parkes Cup.
Given a great run behind the leader by Mikayla Weir, Astunner ($9) overhauled the Clint Lundholm, Dubbo trained Stockholm (Zoe Hunt, $16) to win the 1600 metres Cup by almost two lengths with Jasper’s Way (Jake Pracey-Holmes, $6) running on well for third.
Jasper’s Way is trained at Dubbo by Michael Mulholland who had earlier unveiled the very impressive debut maker Heaps Of Notice to win the opening event.
A six-year-old mare, Heaps Of Notice had revealed outstanding potential when beating the very good gallopers Lockdown Gamble and Quasimodo in a barrier trial at Dubbo and started the $2.20 favourite for the 1000 metres McPhersons Parts and Service/ Parkes Taxis Maiden Handicap.
Settling well back, Heaps Of Notice under the expert guidance of talented apprentice Jacob Stiff, steamed home to win by a half length from the Sharon Jeffries, Parkes trained Kingdom Heart (Grant Buckley, $8) with Nucleaire (Jake Pracey-Holmes, $11) in third place.
The 1400 metres Parkes Services Club Super Maiden Plate had a $22,000 first prize however the owners of the winner were entitled to receive a $100,000 Inglis Extra Bonus if their horse was qualified for the bonus.
Parkes had been selected as one of the hosts for the Inglis series and for the second year in succession at Parkes the $100,000 bonus was won by a qualifier, this time by the Matthew Dale, Goulburn trained grey filly Graynita.
Taking the lead from Yeszem in the straight, Graynita (Louise Day, $31) held off by a half length the fast finishing Spiritual Star (Brodie Loy, $41) and the Sydney trained Che Ole (Chad Lever, $3.10 equal favourite).
Owned by the McMahon family from Tullamore, the seven year old mare Miss Jennifer staged a good performance to win the feature sprint, the 1200 metres Coachman Hotel Punters Club Satellite Handicap.
Coming from the tail of the field with a strong run on the inside, the Danny Williams, Goulburn trained Miss Jennifer (Mathew Cahill, $6 to $4.40) arrived in time to beat Panic (Louise Day, $3.70 favourite) and Mountain Top (Jacob Stiff, $5.50).
Rain during the day softened the track however trainers and jockeys agreed the racing surface was outstanding for the 8 races meeting.
Parkes will next race on Saturday 6 June with the long weekend meeting traditionally attracting a huge crowd.
Meanwhile, the Cobar Cup is on Saturday and Wellington TAB the following Tuesday.
Graynita lands the $100k bonus
What a moment on Parkes Gold Cup Day as Graynita secured the Inglis Xtra $100,000 Bonus in the Parkes Services Club 1400m Super Maiden.
Trained at Goulburn by Matthew Dale and ridden beautifully by Louise Day on Sunday, the three-year-old Frosted filly showed plenty of toughness after jumping from barrier 13 and working across to sit outside the leader.
Graynita travelled comfortably throughout, taking control inside the final 200m to race away with the feature event and secure a massive payday for her connections.
The Parkes Jockey Club and president Alex Prout were thrilled to share the news.
"Incredibly, this is now the second year in a row the Inglis Xtra Bonus has gone off on Parkes Gold Cup Day," he said.
"Creating huge excitement for the local racing community while providing a major incentive for owners and trainers to target."