A convincing victory by Diamond Jak (NZ) (Jakkalberry) in the $50,000 Savabeel 2100 capped a special hour at Te Rapa on Saturday for Matamata brothers Peter and Mark Brosnan.
The two trainers collected wins in back-to-back races on the Te Rapa card, starting with Ima Wonder’s (NZ) (Eighth Wonder) triumph for Peter Brosnan and his wife Jessica in the Bridges Insurance Services Pakuranga Hunt Cup (4800m).
Mark Brosnan followed suit 40 minutes later, saddling Diamond Jak for a richly deserved success in the day’s 2100m open handicap.
Diamond Jak headed to Te Rapa on Saturday in search of redemption, having run a close and unlucky second after a wide run in last month’s Taumarunui Gold Cup (2200m) at the same venue.
This time jockey Jasmine Fawcett took up a position on the outside of the pace-making My Maebelline Girl (NZ) (Shamoline Warrior) for the majority of the 2100m journey, then quickened and headed that rival soon after straightening for home.
Diamond Jak faced stern opposition on both flanks through the final 200m, with My Maebelline Girl refusing to lie down on his inside while Dashwood (NZ) (Redwood) challenged strongly wider out on the track. But Diamond Jak dug deep and pulled away from that pair, crossing the finish line a length and a half ahead.
The six-year-old son of Jakkalberry has now had 23 starts for four wins, nine placings and $125,625 in prize-money.
“It’s been a pretty good day for the family,” Mark Brosnan said. “I thought Diamond Jak won very well today. He was strong.
“We rode him a bit differently this time, just because of race circumstances. He did a good job, and I think he really deserved to win a nice race like that after being so unlucky in his last run.
“What we do with him from here is a very difficult question. He’s a four-win horse, but he’d be close to topweight in most open handicaps now. There’s not a lot of options available to us. But we’ll take this win for now and enjoy that, and then we’ll take a bit of time to work through where we might go with him from here.”
