In Brief
- Yole trains five of seven winners.
- Tassie notch up first win for Team Teal.
- Doubles for McDonald and Rattray.
It has been a great start to the 2021 season for trainer Ben Yole and driver Troy McDonald who both had a great night at the office in Devonport on Friday night.
Yole and McDonald teamed up to win the first two races on the card.
Artiflash was their first winner of the night, when the seven-year-old gelding flashed home down the outside to score in a rating 50 to 57 event after the $6.00 chance was driven for luck by McDonald in the early and middle stages of the race.
“I thought the one and seven looked the best two in the race, so I dropped down to be three back on the pegs and was lucky it panned out perfectly,” said McDonald about the win.
Good Feelings was the next winner for the Yole and McDonald combo when scoring an effortless win by 7.4 metres in a 30 to 49 rating event.
“He fly’s the mobile and was able to spear straight to the lead,” McDonald said.
“We copped no pressure in front, and he was on the bit all the way to win easily,” added the winning driver.
McDonald lost his concession claim at the start of the season under Tasracing’s new policy and has had an enjoyable start to 2021.
“It has been a good start to the season, I have been getting plenty of nice drives off Ben (Yole), so it hasn’t been an issue losing my claim,” said the driver who has 162 wins to his credit in his short driving career.
Yole trained another three winners on the card, including The Deal, who provided Tasmania with their first win for Team Teal after the pacer was driven to victory by Samantha Gangell.
Lake Eyre and Karalta Dazzler scored later in the night, with both horses from the Ben Yole stable driven to victory by Gareth Rattray.
Yole now has a 30-win lead in the state trainers premiership, and he also leads the national title by nine wins.
McDonald is seven wins clear from his nearest rival in the state drivers premiership.
Five-year-old mare Aussie Rock notched up her fifth win in a row after leading all the way to score at the short odds of $1.35 in a rating 58 to 65 event, while Levi Jimmy notched up his first win in 13-months in a rating 30 to 49 event.
Watch Artiflash storm home to score in the opening race of the Devonport card: