Ashleigh Delosa and Jenny Turnbull after Seasider's victory. Photo by Brett Atkins
THE lion’s share of the $75,000 prizemoney for last Friday night’s TAB Regional Western Championship Final stayed in Bathurst after Seasider was able to take out the feature.
Trained by Amanda Turnbull and owned by her mother Jenny in partnership with Harvey and Shelley Kaplan, the four-year-old was given a peach of a drive from Ash Delosa who had to overcome a wide draw.
Delosa picked up the drive after Turnbull qualified three horses for the final and she proved just why she is regarded as one of the state’s best with a patient drive.
She allowed Seasider to settle into his rhythm towards the tail of field which was a smart move given the blistering first half that was set by the leaders which ended up proving costly to them.
Delosa was able to jump onto the coat tails of Betting Ranger who quickly circled the field in the final lap and ran out of his skin, only being collared by Seasider over the concluding stages.
In the end Seasider scored by almost four metres over a brave Betting Ranger while Art Of Terror got out late to finish a creditable third.
After the race Delosa said that she felt confident a long way from home, believing her charge was full of running.
“He went super,” an excited Delosa said.
“The leaders went crazy early and when Ang Hurst made her run three wide, I knew I had to latch onto the back of them which all worked out perfectly.
“Coming past the 600 metre mark my guy felt like he was travelling like the winner, even though we had a way to go.
“I just wanted to save his final burst for as long as I could given that in the past, he has shown a tendency to switch off when finding the front too early, but he just travelled up so well.”
“It was great to pick up a feature win for Amanda and Seasider’s connections.
“Amanda has been a good supporter of mine for a long time and has given me plenty of opportunities, so it was great to repay her trust in me.”
The win was not only on Amanda's birthday but it also cemented Seasider’s spot in the $150,000 TAB State Championship final at Menangle on May 2, joining stablemate She The Devil who secured her spot in the race after winning the ‘Fast Pass’ qualifier at Parkes on January 7.
