Madame De Ban toughs it out in Highway Handicap Plate
HUGH Bowman has two wins from four races at Rosehill as the master-jockey steered favourite Madame De Ban to a hard-fought Highway Handicap Plate win.
The $2.80 top elect at Sportsbet.com.au was in the middle of the field as the horses entered the straight and was pushed along as they leveled up for the run to the judge, but Bowman was able to find top gear as the mare surged past a brave Maestro Tom which returned a huge $12.40 the place at WilliamHill.com.au.
Circle Game was two lengths behind the leaders in third to return $4.80 at Sportsbet.com.au in what was an eye-catching run given how hard it hit the line.
The win overturned an agonising set of results for Madame De Ban, which had seen the four-year-old finish third in five of its last six runs.
Stable representative Keira Dunn said the team was delighted to give the owners a win in a race of this magnitude.
“No horse is more deserving of this one,” Dunn said.
“She’s been so close time and time again so it’s just fantastic for the bunch of owners to be here today to be able to enjoy the win.”
Dunn was also full of praise for the performance of Bowman, who masterfully took the horse to the next level as the post loomed to hand the horse its fourth win from 13th start.
“He just walks out with his own plan and does what he needs to do and gets the job done,” Dunn said.
“It’s fantastic.”
The race also featured the second fall of the day as Vitervo Star shifted its legs under loose turf at the 800m mark to dislodge jockey Rachael Murray.
Reports directly after the race suggested both Murray and Vitervo Star will not require specialist medical treatment.