THIRD generation harness racing driver Ewa Justice continued her recent golden run of form by combining with father John to land the 2024 Charlton Pacing Cup (2570m) aboard Helluva.
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The 21-year-old's first country cup triumph came hot on the heels of her maiden Group 1 victory on the Ash Warton-trained Modern Bliss in the $150,000 Tasmania Cup in Hobart earlier this month.
First up after three months, Helluva's victory in the $30,000 feature was built on a bold front-running drive from Justice.
She was able to quickly find the lead on the six-year-old gelding, who showed plenty of toughness in the final stages, to hold off the Julie Douglas-trained pair of Kosimo (driven by Jack Laugher) and Ideal Escape (Ellen Tormey) for a 1.6m win.
It was the son of Mach Three's 13th career win from 46 starts and boosted his prize earnings to a sweet $147,670.
His most recent win before Sunday was at Melton last October in the $24,000 Popular Alm Free-For-All on Group 1 Victoria Cup night.
Justice was able to carry out father and trainer John Justice's plans to a tee on Sunday.
"Going into it, he's always ran his races first-up quite strongly," she said post-race.
"We weren't sure 100 per cent. I think only today (Sunday) we decided on final instructions, but it worked out to plan.
"Exactly what I hoped would happen happened. I couldn't be happier."
Justice said that finding the front early from barrier seven was the cornerstone of their plan.
"I didn't think there was an overly amount of horse power inside of us that would be able to hold us out and keep going," she said.
"I was hoping that would happen, but you don't always expect it.
"I was pretty happy with it."
Justice admitted to feeling the pressure in the final stages from the Douglas-trained pair, both of which produced big performances in filling the minor placings.
"I was in two minds whether to ask him to go down the back with Kosimo on my back, but having Ideal Escape beside me, but it all worked out in the end," she said.
The talented young driver could not have been more chuffed to have knocked over her first Group 1 win and first country cup success within the space of a few weeks.
"It's something I never dreamed of and now that it is happening I still can't believe it," she said.
"I'm very thankful."
Looking to back up his Horsham Pacing Cup win from six days earlier, the beaten favourite in the race Sew What ($2.60) ran home strongly for fifth.
Also aiming for back-to-back cup victories following his success at Boort on March 3, Harryhoo, for the combination of Junortoun trainer Danny Curran and driver Michelle Phillips, produced another nice effort for fourth.
Helluva is expected to chase further cup glory in next month's Mildura Pacing Cup.