By Justin Robertson
Right: Pakenham’s Greg Hayes is all smiles in the mounting yard after Doyadeal won race six. 55937
PAKENHAM trainer Peter Foster “just knew” his horse would win at the Pakenham Gazette Oaks meeting last Thursday.
Chatting to another local trainer before the race, he simply said: “Your horse doesn’t stand a chance.”
He was right.
Trojan of Troy blitzed the field and won by a few lengths to claim the 2400-metre Jarrcon Constructions Handicap in front of 5000 spectators.
“I was actually pretty confident he’d win. He just loves a little bit of sting out of the ground and he and the jockey (Chris Pace) get on very well,” Foster said.
“He has a very good spurt at the end, which is what I was very impressed with. The home ground advantage is great, especially when everyone at the track backed him.”
Foster’s horse has enjoyed some success with six wins – three at the picnics and three at the provincials – and has now won at Pakenham, Hamilton and a handful of other tracks.
“He’s won on wet tracks and dry tracks, you name it,” Foster said. “He just likes to run and knows where the winning post is.”
Foster bought the horse two years ago when he was an unbroken three-year-old colt at a dispersal sale – but didn’t initially want him.
“I didn’t know the stallion, but I knew Scenic on the dam’s side,” he said. “They opened him at $1800, and I was the last bidder at $2500 and was stuck with him. He’s going along very well at the moment, which is very good.”
Foster has his sights set on a 3000 metre race at a Friday night meeting at Moonee Valley this month.
“Maybe one more start before that, just to see how we go. He pulled up fine yesterday, so we’ll wait and see.”
While all eyes were firmly on the fashion, it was hard to ignore the abundance of local trainers taking part at the Oaks. Of the 65 trainers that spanned seven races, 34 were local – 25 from Cranbourne, eight from Pakenham and one from Nar Nar Goon.
Aside from Foster, Pakenham’s Greg Hayes’s Doyadeal – owned by former trainer Giuseppe Alati – pinched the 1000m Pharmore Pharmacies Handicap and Devon Meadows’ Greg Cameron won the 1300m Lady Luck Handicap all local affair with Second Go.
“How good was that? We’re just stoked,” Cameron said in the mounting yard after the win.
“This win is really for my son, Brad, because he does everything. It’s great for him to prove that he’s doing a few things right.”
