DESPITE odds of $98.90 on the tote, local trainer Bruce Williams was always confident his mare Dapper Chic could go the distance and put up a good show at
a race meeting at Wagga over the
weekend.
At five years old the weekend’s first placing was Dapper Chic’s second win of her career, the first while trained by Bruce.
Bruce said he was “happy as Larry” with the win.
He was watching the race with a mate and said before the field jumped he would be happy if Dapper Chic finished in the top four, however after a good start Bruce began to think his horse could go all the way.
The race ended in a photo finish, however after looking at the big screen, Bruce was sure Dapper Chic had crossed first.
The adjudicators agreed and it was determined Dapper Chic had come in by half a head – however says Bruce, “a win is a win”.
She was ridden to victory by Corowa jockey Shirley Hunter.
Dapper Chic had six runs coming into the Wagga meeting with mixed results.
The week before her terrific first place in Wagga, Bruce had run Dapper Chic at Condobolin, where she came in second last.
He said he knew she could turn herself around and come up with the goods in Wagga.
“She has always shown ability.”
His horses are kept on his property on the outskirts of town and trained both at the property and at the Cootamundra Racecourse.
Before being purchased by Bruce, Dapper Chic was trained in Albury.
Dapper Chic comes from a good lineage, she is out of a Sir Dapper mare and her father was a middle distance race specialist.
Like her father, Dapper Chic likes the middle distance races, between 1400 and 1600 metres, the best.
Bruce said she likes big tracks with sweeping turns such as Wagga and Canberra.
“She is a really happy horse, and any horse which is happy has the potential to perform.”
Bruce is confident she will continue her winning form.
“She has more wins in her.”
Despite long odds on the tote, Bruce said bookmakers at the meet were paying closer to 30-1.
Although she has a couple of years of racing left in her, Bruce said once she is retired from the track she will be used for breeding.
Next for Bruce and Dapper Chic will be Queanbeyan on March 13.
Bruce said he will consider putting her in the Cootamundra Picnic Races next month, however she might be due for a spell by then.
Bruce has been training horses for 15 years, and does so purely as a hobby.
He has had a couple of wins in the past and said racing is in his blood; his father was a bookmaker.
We asked if Bruce had any money on his horse with odds of close to 100-1, and the answer was a sad no, he had a win at shorter odds with the bookmaker at the track but sadly neither he nor his family had put any money on the tote for Dapper Chic!
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