Seven-year-old gelding Cool Water Paddy ended a run of outs when leading all the way to record a narrow win in the Young Group Pace (2090m) in Hobart on Sunday night.
The well-travelled pacer, who started his racing career in Tasmania, had been out of the winners list since 18 November last year when he won at Gloucester Park in Perth.
Driver Todd Rattray took the $12 chance straight to the lead before kicking clear around the home corner, and the pacer had to dig deep late to hold off the challenge of Lynyrd Skynyrd ($6.50) by a head, with Stepping Stones ($41) a further 2.8m away in third place in a mile rate of 1m 58.1s.
Cool Water Paddy arrived back in the care of his initial trainer, Juanita McKenzie, earlier this year and had been placed in four of 14 starts since arriving back in the state before Sunday’s win.
“He went okay (on Sunday), but he needed the line, and the other one needed the line, which helped,” said trainer Juanita McKenzie after the race.
“He has run a couple of nice races and gives the impression he is going to go on with it, and then he would put in a couple of bad ones,” she added.
“I thought his run in the Golden Mile three starts ago was good.
“He was first-up from a short break and needed the run, and they only got him the last 50 metres.
“In saying that the old Paddy, they wouldn’t have got past him that night,” McKenzie explained.
McKenzie is not looking too far ahead with the gelding’s future plans.
“There is no plan.
“He is a week-by-week proposition, really.
“He has a few issues we have to maintain and look after him the best we can,” she said.
