JULIE and Glenn Douglas kick-started a potentially big week by taking out the $10,000 Elmore Pacing Cup (2150m) with Rick Reilly at Lord's Raceway Bendigo on Tuesday night.
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The Strathfieldsaye trainer-driver team will have their two-year-old gelding Interest Free engaged in a Group 1 Breeders Crown Final at Melton this Saturday night, but were able to land an early-week feature race win closer to home with their New Zealand import.
Coming from well back in the field on Rick Reilly, Glenn Douglas was able to weave his way through the field and run down the hard-working Radius (David Barbetti/Ryan Sanderson) in the shadows of the post to win by 1.3m.
Joe Nien (John Justice) was six metres away in third, while the $3.60 favourite Leer (Brent Lilley/Chris Alford) weakened badly after leading with a lap to travel to finish last.
A tough win continued a solid run of form for Rick Reilly, by Sportswriter out of the mare Shard's Fantasy, since his arrival at Strathfieldsaye.
The gelding, who is owned by the Douglases' daughter Hayley, has won five of his nine Australian starts and went into the race on the back of a second at Melton and an unlucky third at Ballarat in his run before that.
Despite his good form, Glenn Douglas branded the win as a little unexpected.
"I thought I was going to get lost in the back of the field there and held up and be a little unlucky, but to his credit, he was very good," he said.
"He's a different horse - he carries himself bold and he has a bold attitude about it too.
"But one thing he is is a great pacer, you can pull him about and chase him through anywhere."
Douglas insisted Rick Reilly was unfortunate not to have won at either of his previous two starts, which followed wis at Kilmore and Mildura.
"Two starts back at Ballarat his deafeners failed to release and the blinds never came down, but he ran a close third," he said.
"Not until after the race did I actually notice that I was too caught up in the moment. At the time I thought jeez he fought on very well.
"Then last week at Melton when I pulled them he really got going. Even down the straight, I knew I was beaten by Greg (Sugars on Better Eclipse), but I thought if only they released last week we might have won."
I thought I was going to get lost in the back of the field there and held up and be a little unlucky, but to his credit, he was very good.
- Glenn Douglas
The cup win gave Julie Douglas her 156th training win for the season and a slender two-win gap over Emma Stewart at the top of the state trainer's premiership.
It came hot on the heels of a metropolitan double last Saturday night with Interest Free in his Breeders Crown semi-final and the stable's star pacer Torrid Saint in the $24,000 Melton City Council Sprint.
Despite the cup meeting being transferred from its usual Boxing Day date to mid-November and a change in venue from Elmore to Bendigo, Douglas was as keen as ever to support the Elmore Harness Racing Club.
"I don't think I've missed many Elmore meetings, they've always been a great attraction for me," he said.
"These are the heart and soul of harness racing these clubs - they are all volunteers, they all do a great job.
"They all put such an effort into the meetings they get.
"To transfer here (to Bendigo), it might have hurt a little bit ... it probably hasn't hurt the quality of horse going around and the people attending, but for the community, it's a big thing."
This year's pacing and trotters cup races were both worth $10,000, up from their normal $4500 in prizemoney.
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