In Brief
- Braun's triple treat.
- Millionaire mare too good in George Johnson.
- Kiwi impresses at Aussie debut in Oaks.
It was a mixed night at the office for trainer Dean Braun and driver Anthony Butt on Saturday night in Hobart.
Braun put the polish on Willie Go West, who galloped out in the Group 2 Tasmania Cup, the Victorian trainer still had plenty to celebrate with a training treble on the states premier race night.
One of the best mares in the nation Our Princess Tiffany justified her $1.09 quote when recording an effortless win in the states premier mares race, the George Johnson.
Driver Anthony Butt settled the mare one-out and three-back from her second-row draw in the 2579-metre event before working around the field at the 1500-metre mark to find the lead.
From there, it was race over, with the daughter of Art Major not even out of second gear on her way to a 17.7-metre win over Still Hungover, with Indiana Dreaming a further 28.4 metres away third.
Naturally, trainer Dean Braun was pleased with her effort.
“She was really good, she is a millionaire, with no disrespect to the others, you would think she would probably be able to do that against those horses,” said Braun on TasracingTV.
“She will go to the Easter Cup in Launceston now,” said the trainer about the mare, who will be joined by Willie Go West in the heats on 28 March before the Group 2 Final on 3 April.
Connections with Annerie after her win in the 2021 Tasmanian Oaks.
Annerie had her first start in the Group 3 Tasmanian Oaks, where she ran down the leader and race favourite Momentslikethese over the concluding stages.
The daughter of The Gold Ace was on New Zealand’s west coast two weeks ago, and given she hadn’t been in the Braun stable that long the win was a pleasant surprise.
“She really surprised me, I thought she was only going to run top three in the straight, but she really knuckled down well in the lane,” said Braun.
“I didn’t think she would do that, I thought she would need another fortnight, but I am thrilled with the way she has gone, and hopefully she has come through it well, and I hope she may be a Queensland Oaks filly come winter,” added the winning trainer.
Jaffa Josh was the middle pin of Braun and Butt’s treble when scoring in the Eric Reece Memorial Final.
The Auckland Reactor gelding settled one-out and four-back before improving into the race out three-wide from the 1100-metre point before being too strong for his rivals late.
“He has got a good future ahead of him. He is very very fast and has got a bit of bottom to him as well. He is just not sure what he is doing yet, but when the penny drops, he is going to be a pretty nice horse,” said Braun.
Harness racing continues in Hobart on Friday night before the Australian Female Drivers Championship in Launceston on Sunday.
Watch Our Princess Tiffany score in the George Johnson.