A HARNESS racing season of dominance for trainer Julie Douglas and stable driver Jack Laugher continued at Kilmore on Saturday night.
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Douglas, who heads the state trainers' premiership, pushed within sight of the magical 100-win mark for the 2020 season with another metropolitan race treble.
Meanwhile, Laugher, who had already cracked the ton for the first time in his young and flourishing career earlier this month, also finished the night with a trio of wins.
Wins aboard the Douglas-trained Im No Outlaw and Ozzie Joy, and another for fellow Bendigo region trainer Carla Innes-Goodridge on Zarem, moved the 22-year-old to within two wins of Greg Sugars at the top of of the state drivers' premiership.
Sugars, who went winless on Saturday night has 116 wins for the season, while Laugher, who has based himself with Julie and Glenn Douglas in Bendigo this season, has 114.
After notching one winner at Kilmore, Kate Gath sits close behind the leading pair on 109 wins.
A treble for Douglas continued not only her amazing run of success this season, but this month.
The Strathfieldsaye-based trainer has racked up 24 wins so far in July, including nine in the last seven days, starting at Monday's Maryborough meeting.
Those nine have included a treble at Thursday night's 'Mildura at Swan Hill' meeting, success at Tabcorp Park Melton on Friday night with Chase The Hat Trick (also driven by Laugher), and now a metropolitan treble at Kilmore.
A bitterly cold and wet Saturday night got off to a hot start for Laugher and Douglas when they combined to take out the opening race with Im No Outlaw.
The five-year-old gelding, by Bettors Delight out of Ideal Pocket, returned to the winner's list for the first time in 12 starts with a convincing 13.6-metre win in the Bob Cain Memorial/VHRMA Pace.
A short-priced favourite at $2.10, Im No Outlaw boosted his record to 15 wins from 74 starts, with four of the wins achieved this season.
Laugher did not have to wait long for his next win, producing a gem of a drive to land the money on Zarem in race three.
The ever-improving five-year-old was driven patiently and came from three back on the pegs at the bell to finish over the top of the front runner Imsettgo in the straight to win by a head.
It was a huge thrill for trainer Innes-Goodridge, who has just two horses in work, but collected her third win of the season from just 20 starters.
Douglas continued her momentum by taking out the $24,000 Popular Alm Sprint with Torrid Saint, who led all the way from the pole and was able to hold out a persistent Boncel Benjamin, with Malcolms Rhythm in third
The five-year-old, who is owned and bred by Noel Watson, won for the fourth time in 18 starts this season, and was driven by John Caldow.
Douglas and Laugher rounded out an impressive night with a win to Ozzie Joy in the two-year-old fillies event.
The daughter of Rock N Roll Heaven unsuccessfully contested the lead, but always had High Profile ($1.50 favourite) well within his sights, and was able to run down the Emma Stewart-trained runner in the closing stages despite her tendency to hang in.
It was the third win in 10 career starts for Ozzie Joy, who made it back-to-back victories, following his win at Echuca on July 15.
The reserved young reinsman admitted to having some confidence Ozzie Joy, who has only finished outside the top three placings twice in her short career, could get over the top of High Profile.
"I thought if we could cross (High Profile) that was her best chance, but she got out of the gate pretty good," Laugher said.
"Just that gate speed, in itself, is a brilliant thing. Even though we weren't fast enough to cross her, it enabled us to get in on her back.
"That was probably the factor that helped us win the race tonight (Saturday).
"Luckily, it was only a four-horse field and with a couple of other inexperienced horses, it wasn't that hard to do, but she knuckled down really well."
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