APPRENTICE Mehmet Ulucinar rode his first winner on the Spreyton track when Holy Cat snuck home by a head in Sunday’s Boags Draught (C1) Plate.
Ulucinar, who is on loan to local trainer Adam Trinder, rode his only previous Tasmanian winner, Credit Trader, at Mowbray 10 months ago.
He has also ridden three winners in New Zealand and one in his native Turkey.
Ulucinar sat second for most of the race on Holy Cat before overhauling bold front-runner Light The Candles in the closing stages.
Holy Cat is trained at Sheffield by Angela Brakey and was well backed at long odds.
He opened at $15 in the fixed odds market before starting at $7.
Top jockey Brendon McCoull took riding honours at the meeting when he book-ended the program on Concrete Johnny and Guru Rez.
The Terry Evans-trained Concrete Johnny overcame a slow start to sit second in the Benchmark 62 Handicap before scoring his third win in four starts since a spell.
Evans wasn’t at the track due to a hip complaint but part-owner Adam Upton said that the gelding would probably have a break now before being set for a couple of three-year-old feature sprints over the summer carnival.
The Barry Campbell-trained Guru Rez, a seven-year-old racing in the best form of his life, just got home from Flash Al Moon in the Benchmark 72 Handicap then survived a protest.
By Greg Mansfeild – The Examiner