Glen Craven's smart pacer Jilliby Master won by panels today at Stawell trots.
Jilliby Master is proving simply a cut above his rivals at the moment in Victoria's western districts.
The six-year-old Art Major/Jilliby Diamond gelding from the Glen Craven camp toyed with his opposition in today’s Hygain Feeds Pace at Stawell, despite covering so much ground on the first lap that the early settlers would have been impressed.
Junior reinsman Jason Lee, who is already a star of the Victorian trots scene, drove with confidence in the early stages of the 2175-metre event, eventually working Jilliby Master around the field out three-wide to find the lead.
The gelding was coming off a 20.8-metre win at Horsham last month and punters felt he could do it again today, sending him out a prohibitive $1.20 favourite.
Once the Terang pacer found the lead, those who took the shorts were headed for the queue, Jilliby Master increasing his buffer on the rest of the field for the remainder of the race to eventually record a 19.4-metre win. And to the naked eye it looked even further.
Jilliby Master’s winning mile rate was 1:59.3 with a last half of 57.7 seconds. The horse now boasts 10 wins from 22 race starts.
Djibouti ran second for Mat Craven, while Greg Sugars steered Znana into third.
Meanwhile, Daryl Douglas took driving honours for the day, steering eight-year-old Marnie Bibby trained Lake Hills Jeb/Wrap Around gelding Hellovanite to a 7.2-metre win in the Perry’s Footwear Claiming Pace.
Douglas’ second winner came in the Stawell Veterinary Clinic Pace over 2175 metres aboard 11-year-old Davids Pass/Its Whatz Left horse Nonno Medoro for Allansford trainer Gary Barton.
