Hannah’s Wish an emotional winner
Emotions have run high after Hannah’s Wish scored an impressive win at Eagle Farm.
The filly ran up to a good recent win trial when she sat deep for the race but out-slogged Izzah to win Wednesday’s Three-Year-Old Maiden Plate (1200m) by a neck.
The filly is named after Hannah Ciobo, the daughter of former champion swimmer Tracey Wickham and her ex-husband Rob Ciobo who is trainer Robert Heathcote’s racing manager.
Hannah Ciobo died in October 2007 after a battle with cancer aged 19.
“Rob came into the office one day last year and I said `sign this. I am giving you this horse to race’. It was Hannah’s Wish. Now she has won and it is an emotional day for us all,” Robert Heathcote said.
Hannah’s Wish, a Rothesay filly, was having her seventh start having run three previous minor placings.
Jim Orman rode a winning treble at Wednesday’s meeting to move to second in the metropolitan jockeys’s premiership on 66 wins, one behind the leader Jeff Lloyd.
He rode Kit De Luca ($4.20), Mimi Amara ($4.40 ) and Cruising Speed ($16) all for the Meagher training combination which had its first metropolitan treble since moving to Brisbane.
“We had seven accept for today’s meeting when we usually only bring two to the races. But it is good to get back to Eagle Farm where every horse gets a chance,” senior trainer John Meagher said.
“All of our winners are promising and it is a good pointer to the future.”
Meagher said he expected Cruising Speed to get at least 1600m later in her career and go through her grades quickly.