TALENTED young trainer Mark Everett has been in the racing wilderness for most of the year through illness but he returned with a vengeance at Tattersall’s Park in Hobart on Tuesday winning the opening race on the seven-event card.
Everett prepared well bred mare Hold Onto Your Hat for a game debut win in a maiden over 1100 metres.
With in-form apprentice Rhagan Cross aboard, Hold Onto Your Hat showed good early speed to lead and held away to the home turn where she was clearly headed by Abasova that raced at the leader’s girth for most of the way.
But when Cross called on her charge to extend she regained the lead and then staved off all challengers to go on and score by almost a length from Feyfey’s Uncle Max with Larg’s Lass over two lengths away third.
Hold Onto Your Hat (My Lad-Almurtess) was bred by Dr. Greg Pitt and is raced by him and a group of friends.
The four-year-old mare is a half-sister to Dr Pitt’s former smart sprinter The Flea that while trained by Royston Carr won 11 and notched as many minor placings from 36 starts for almost $140,000 in stakes.
Listen to Peter Staples’ interview with trainer Mark Everett after Hold Onto Your Hat’s debut win – click here .