It’s a Ripa for Phillips

By Justin Robertson
PAKENHAM trainer Michael Phillips took out the three-year-old Maiden Plate at the Pakenham Guineas race meeting on Saturday.
“You always like to win at Pakenham,” he said, also noting his three-year-old finished half a second outside the track record.
“I’m getting a bit old, so you don’t get a lot of winners now, but I quite like this horse.”
Coming from six lengths behind in the 1000-metre race, Ripa Artois picked it up on the straight to win by a neck.
Phillips was chuffed with the result.
“It was a terrific run, I always love winning at Pakenham because you have a lot of friends there,” he said.
“ The track was in magnificent condition and the club did a wonderful job on the day.”
Phillips said Ripa Artois will be racing at Moonee Valley in a fortnight in a bonus race for three-year-olds.
Michael Hodge, CEO of the Pakenham Racing Club, said the day was a complete success and he couldn’t be happier for Phillips.
“It has been a fantastic weekend for the locals,” he said.
“Michael winning here and Dennis Phelan winning at Cranbourne on Sunday was a great achievement.”
The Pakenham-based trainer won with his horse, Border Express, in the $20,000 Highview Accounting Services Handicap at Cranbourne.
The five-year-old son of Aristotle led from start to finish.
The Pakenham Racing Club boasted record pre-booking numbers this year, with 1300 people signing up before Saturday.
“The club is absolutely delighted with the day as it has surpassed all our expectations,” Hodge said.
“Our pre-race bookings reached 400 more than the previous year and it’s a great opener for the spring racing carnival and a great lead-in to Oaks day, our biggest race meeting of the year.”