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Rugged four-year-old Bowie capped off a memorable year for the Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman training partnership at Rotorua on Saturday when he provided the duo with their final winner for the 2016/17 racing season.
In a thoroughly professional effort the Iffraaj gelding bounced well from an outside barrier to settle handy to the pace before taking control of the race at the top of the straight. Kept up to the mark by apprentice Sam Weatherley, Bowie dug deep to comfortably fend off the challenge of Stratford visitor Hotshot Lass in the run to the winning post.
“It was a good positive ride by Sam as they did a fair bit of work to get across on a good early clip,” noted Forsman after the race.“Obviously being on pace in the race was a bit of an advantage.”
Forsman admitted there had been confidence in the camp before the race as Bowie attempted to make it back-to-back wins after scoring at Matamata earlier in the month.“He has raced well here before so that gave us a bit of confidence,” he said.
“Normally he gets himself a little worked up and has a bit of a sweat but we’ve kept him fresh and he seems to be enjoying what he’s doing.”The performance took the all-conquering Cambridge team’s final tally to 107 wins as they combined to take out their second National Trainer’s Premiership title in just the fifth year of their partnership. It also completed the second leg of a winning double for the stable after promising filly Crafty Jess had scored earlier on the card.
The victory also provided apprentice Weatherley with the first leg of a winning treble that included the feature race on the day, the Listed Woods Contracting Taumarunui Gold Cup on Gentil Tonton. The young Matamata hoop, who is indentured to the Lance O’Sullivan & Andrew Scott team at Wexford Stables, also had cause to celebrate as he claimed the mantle of leading apprentice for the season with 67 victories in his first full season in the saddle.