Saturday's $175,000 Listed Glasshouse Handicap (1400m) at the Sunshine Coast was the final stakes race of the Queensland Winter Carnival and it was one for the locals.
The Les Ross-trained River Racer, a 5yo daughter of Lyndhurst Stud's veteran Danehill stallion Hidden Dragon, stormed home under Matt McGillivray to defeat the luckless favourite Niccanova (Nicconi) by one and three-quarter lengths with a short neck to dead heaters Platinum Angel (Snitzel) and Chapter and Verse (Rothesay) in third.
Ross
revealed that he had a few choice words with McGillivray before the race.
"He came out with three girths and then he didn't come out and I had to send in to the jockeys room for him. I said to him I have a live chance here and you will muck it up," Ross told AAP.
"Then I said to him it was no wonder I didn't give him too many rides. But I will have to give him a lot more now."
River Racer had placed five times in stakes races before her breakthrough and Ross said it had given him a thrill to win for owner Leslie Ung, who had been a great supporter of his stable.
"River Racer has run in a lot of tough races and picked up $427,000 before today. So she goes past $500,000 now and it is because the owners wanted her to race in the best company."
"I could have won 15 races with her and not earned anything like that prize money."
Passed in when she failed to find a buyer willing to part with her $15,000 when offered by Lyndhurst Stud Farm at the 2015 Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale, River Racer (pictured as a yearling ) advances her record to 5 wins, 6 seconds and 5 thirds from 35 starts with earnings of $528,525.
She is one of five winners from as many to race out of the Adelaide winning Royal Academy (USA) mare Royal Yangtze who had been purchased by Leslie Ung for $10,000 at the 2012 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
Royal Yangtze has a yearling gelding by Sizzling and a weanling filly by Hidden Dragon. She was covered by the highflying Better Than Ready last spring.
River Racer becomes the 8th stakes-winner for Hidden Dragon who lines up for his 14th season at Lyndhurst Farm in 2019.
