THE young training team of Kate Hargreaves and Alex Ashwood has notched up one of its biggest ever days, highlighted by four winners at three different venues and another trotters cup win for Well Defined.
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The Shelbourne-based team collected a double at Birchip on Sunday afternoon with their stable newcomer Lord Court and Redbank Rendezvous, before adding a win apiece at Shepparton with Well Defined and Hobart with Elita on Sunday night.
A tally of three Victorian wins catapulted Hargreaves to the top of the state's trainers' premiership.
After topping the 100 mark in the extended 2019-20 racing season, the Hargreaves-Ashwood stable has produced 26 winners through the first 66 days of the year, giving them a lead of one over Anthony Butt and Sonya Smith and putting them five ahead of Emma Stewart.
Hargreaves said never in her wildest dreams did she expect to see the stable sitting atop the premiership standings.
"It doesn't seem real," she said.
"Hopefully we can keep the momentum going."
With runners on Sunday engaged at Birchip and Shepparton and Ashwood with Elita and Tay Tay over in Tasmania, Hargreaves praised a thorough team effort for Sunday's success.
"It was a big day, but we managed to pull it off," she said.
"It was busy, but everyone who is involved at the stable had to put in a lot of work and it was great that they were all rewarded."
A key contributor to the stable's 26 Victorian wins, Well Defined added another by taking out the $14,500 Wangaratta Trotters Cup (2690m).
It was the fourth-straight country cup win for the six-year-old son of Majestic Son and Focus On Me following his success the previous Sunday at Boort and Terang and Ararat earlier in February.
Hargreaves was still in shock on Monday after Well Defined had to do a lot of work throughout the race, but found an extra gear in the straight to sprint past Monaro Mia and Robbie Royale to win by a head.
She said Ellen Tormey's decision to bypass the sprint lane and hook the gelding to the outside ultimately proved 'the winning move'.
"I honestly couldn't believe it, he had to do so much work to get to the lead that I thought there was no way he could possibly win," she said.
"I'm always confident and always think he's going to go well, but I just cannot believe he won that race.
"He took a little bit of time to wind up and he only just got there.
"I'm still in shock, I didn't think he was capable of doing something like that, Ellen said they were flat-out for the full first lap, but then to go past horses like Robbie Royale and Monaro Mio, I don't have any words for it."
His Wangaratta Cup victory was Well Defined's fourth win of the year from seven starts and boosted his overall career record to 15 wins and 17 placings from 72 starts for earnings of $137,566.
A brilliant last month has earned his owners, Hargreaves, her brother Brett and his partner Brooke Palfreyman $42,180 in prize money.
The only gloss off the victory came with Well Defined being stood down after galloping at the start for a second time, putting plans to contest this Sunday's Charlton Cup on ice.
"He's going to have a trial and then he will probably go to the Horsham Cup in three weeks," she said.
"We will stick to the country cups as much as we can, I think he's always going to be ultra-competitive, even off the bigger handicaps.
"Obviously the winning streak will have to end eventually, but I think he can keep on being competitive."
A foray into Tasmania yielded success with the four-year-old mare Elita, who was superbly driven to victory by Ashwood.
The consistent daughter of Bettors Delight has only finished outside the placings once in her last 11 starts and racked up career win number seven at start number 34.
"She's an honest little mare and never really runs a bad race, so I was really happy with her," Hargreaves said.
"She's done a marvellous job.
"Unfortunately, Tay Tay had a heart fibrillation, so there was an excuse for her, which was a bit disappointing."
Both winners at Birchip were driven by young stable employee Jordan Leedham, who is fourth on the state concession drivers' premiership, with 10 wins.
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