Gillett lands Alice Springs double on St Patrick’s Day

[Wandering Eyes]

Alice Springs apprentice Dakota-Lee Gillett heading to the gates on the Trevor Montgomerie-trained Fluffy Bunny Feet before toppling Class 2 opposition over 1100m at Pioneer Park. (Picture: Nikki Westover Photography)

Apprentice Dakota-Lee Gillett celebrated a winning double at Alice Springs on Sunday during the annual St Patrick’s Day Cup meeting.

That made it eight wins for the 2022/23 season for the 17-year-old, who kicked started her career last July, and she has now skipped two wins clear of Ianish Luximon as the leading apprentice in Alice Springs this term.

The daughter of trainers Terry and Leanne Gillett, Dakota-Lee sits in equal-fifth place with Casey Hunter behind runaway Alice Springs jockeys’ premiership leader Sonja Wiseman (22).

Brat ($4.20 fav) posted his fourth win in the Red Centre, leading from start to finish over 1200m (0-58), and the fact the four-year-old gelding was trained by Dakota-Lee’s father only made the win more memorable.

Alice Springs R2 replay – Brat (1st)

Partnering the Trevor Montgomerie-trained Fluffy Bunny Feet over 1100m (Class 2), the teenager was able to settle the four-year-old mare out in front along the rails passing the 800m.

Kevin Lamprecht’s Rupert’s Delight (Ianish Luximon) and Russell Bell’s Garrucha (Dan Morgan) kept the South Australian raider company before Fluffy Bunny Feet ($6) kicked clear in the home straight to make it two wins from 12 starts.

Ankle Rolex arrived from the Patrick Johnston stable in Darwin with a big reputation and he is clearly the one to beat in the NT Guineas (1600m) during the Alice Springs Cup Carnival next month with a dominant display against fellow three-year-olds over 1200m.

The son of Cable Bay boasts two wins from four starts in Fannie Bay and was mooted as a leading contender for the NT Guineas after winning an 1100m maiden on debut on New Year’s Eve.

Sitting in fourth place along the rails passing the 600m on Sunday, Ankle Rolex ($2.20 fav) found clear air once turning for home thanks to a great ride from Darwin apprentice Jade Hampson before storming away to eclipse his rivals by 4.75 lengths.

Barry Cooke’s Jewel Roca (Hunter) and Dick Leech’s $2.90 second favourite Barani (Jarrod Todd), two last start winners, filled the minor placings and will have to find something if they expect to match Ankle Rolex in the Guineas.

The Kerry Petrick-trained Venting (Paul Denton), last year’s NT Derby (2050m) winner in Darwin, is back from Victoria as he embarks on a second NT campaign and in his first Alice Springs start it was victory over 1400m (0-64).

Jumping from a wide gate, the four-year-old gelding – a $10 hope – settled eighth and gradually made ground on the leaders along the rails before clicking into gear passing the 600m.

Venting clearly had plenty left in the tank and was blocked for a run, but once finding a gap in the home straight he pounced to record an impressive win from Savage’s gallant Mi Mijo (Sonja Wiseman) with a Greg Connor’s Vitesse Breeze (Lek Maloney) a distant third.

Former Alice Springs trainer Mark Nyhan, now based in the Top End, celebrated a win at his old stamping ground when Bat Pad (Wiseman) cleaned up quality opposition over 1200m (BM76).

A last-start seventh in her Pioneer Park debut on March 11, the five-year-old mare enhanced her hopes of getting a start in the Pioneer Sprint (1200m) on April 30 after hitting the front at the 1000m and kicking away before saluting by three lengths.

Bat Pad ($5.50), who boasts four wins from 10 starts in Darwin, was far too good with Terry Gillett’s stablemates Great Buy (Gillett) and Bench Press (Stan Tsaikos) filling the minor placing.

Connor’s Flying Start (Jessie Philpot), the 2022 horse of the year in Alice Springs, and Leech’s $2.30 favourite Kerioth (Todd), who had posted two emphatic wins from as many starts in the Red Centre, finished fifth and seventh, respectively.

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