The only thing missing was a local winner, even though several stables had starters.
In the end it took jockey Daniel Stackhouse to provide the day’s highlight when he landed a winning double.
And he was almost trumped in the last race of the day when Warrowie Rose reared in the stalls, giving Swan Hill jockey Harry Coffey a smack in the face that saw him reel out of the barrier.
Both horse and rider were vet checked and given the green light to go; but the four-year-old mare was never in the hunt and finished ninth in the field of 10.
After taking out the $22,000 bet365 Odds Drift Promise over 1000m on Hot In Paris, Stackhouse was one of the few at the track with a modest, but large, grin on his face.
“I thought Hot In Paris was a great win; the race worked out really well for me and there was plenty of speed to settle on one out and one back,” Stackhouse explained.
“Even though she got exposed a little bit early once she settled she travelled very nicely throughout the race.
“As she was first up I did not want to go early but I loved the way she did pick up and she was solid to the line.
“Looking at her today she is an older horse, whose two wins have both been first ups, but with her maturity she’s going to take a great benefit from today’s run.”
Hot In Paris certainly proved too hot to handle for the $3.30 favourite Kiata, which tried everything to get in front but was a clear head behind when they hit the line.
Stackhouse got his day off to a flyer when he took out the opening event on the card – the $23,000 TAC Be Ready Maiden Plate over 1000m – with three-year-old gelding Lunar Hero.
And we mean flyer – this time Stackhouse and horse finished a whopping five lengths clear (being eased down) of heavily backed debutant All of Brighton.
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