Tasracing

Scottsdale reinswoman, Georgia Hayward delivered a knockout blow to punters when she drove her first career winner aboard It Is A Glacier in the $12,000 Launceston Discretionary Sunday night at odds of $151.00 on the local tote.

The race which saw a false start after a lengthy delay at the first attempt was then an action-packed event which saw Sea Double Ugrant lose his driver after the start was affected with Jaccka Len, El Jays Mystery and Max Richter all failing to complete the course.

While the action was happening behind her, Hayward positioned the ten-year-old gelding on the back of the leader Destreos from her outside of the front row draw in the 2200 metre event.

When Ideal World outside the leader at the 350-metre mark dropped out, Hayward was able to work into clear racing room and the Kent Rattray gelding sprinted away to score by 2.3-metres over Koolaz Elvis with Destreos a further 4.7-metres away third.

“I was so shocked, Kent (Rattray) said before the race that he didn’t expect me to win and to just go round and have fun,” said the 17-year-old about the win.

“After the false start he got a bit excited and it pumped him up a bit more … after the next start when I got him away to get on the back of Destreos I was not realizing what was going on behind me,” explained the winner driver.

“I didn’t think I was going to win as I always seem to get rundown late so when I crossed that line I was so happy I just started balling my eyes out,” added Hayward.

Georgia’s interest like many in the industry has come through family involvement, her great uncle and aunty Lenny and Lawrence Hayward along with her pop John Hayward raced Swishinover and Swishinon but it wasn’t until Georgia’s family moved to Scottsdale where her interest in harness racing grew.

“When we moved to Scottsdale in 2015 Wayne and Kent (Rattray) were on the doorstep inviting me down to the stables if I wanted to fill in some time, I had been involved in pony club for many years prior so I had a bit of horse knowledge,” said Hayward who spent several months in the New South Wales Stables of James Rattray and she indicated that she may look at spending time interstate again when she gets a bit older.

While it was a knockout blow in the Launceston Discretionary the other $12,000 feature, the Harry Holgate Memorial went a bit more to script when short price favourite Lip Reader scored a seven-metre victory.

The Rohan Hillier trained gelding is now three from three since arriving in his stables from New South Wales, with Conor Crook in the sulky for the pacers last two victories.

The Heath Woods trained and driven pacer The Shallows remains unbeaten after six starts this season in the Elders Insurance Launceston Pace, sent out at $1.35 the Shadyshark Hanover four-year-old gelding scored a 7.8-metre win in a mile rate of 1m 59.3s for 2200 metres.

Watch Lip Reader prove too good for his rivals in the Harry Holgate Memorial Final: