Heath Woods had plenty of reasons to celebrate when Stepping Stones ($5) claimed the Sheffield Cup (2698m) in Launceston on Sunday night.
Woods, who was celebrating his birthday, got the eight-year-old daughter of Stonebridge Regal away well from her 20m handicap, and quickly was positioned in the one-out one-back.
She raced three wide from the 650m point and proved too strong late for The Chancer ($11) and Kostyuk Leis ($10) in a mile rate of 2:02.0s for the standing start event.
“We knew we would probably need to be positive with her, because she was down in class a little bit,” said Woods post-race.
“She is a horse that runs all day, and over the long distance, when they go a handy tempo all the way suits her.”
It was the third win of the season for Stepping Stones, who has now won 16 races and just under $250,000 in prize money.
“She was a pretty handy two-year-old.
“She came back as a three-year-old and, for one reason or another, she was going all right, but had no luck, and probably didn’t go as we thought.
“Then she came back as a four-year-old and still probably not quite there, but then just gradually worked into it.”
“We haven’t really looked past this week. She might even have another week or two off,” Woods said when asked about the future plans.
“We might have one more crack at those better races like the George Johnson before Christmas,” said Woods, who indicated potential breeding options were being considered.
The finish of the Latrobe Cup (2200m) was a race put on for the swoopers when Unmatched and Didyalousaroosta came from back in the field, and racing wide over the final circuit to battle out the finish.
It was Unmatched ($7.50) for trainer-driver Todd Rattray, recording the win by a neck over Didyalousaroosta ($8.50) in a mile rate of 1:58.3s.
The other feature on the 10-race card was the Leigh Plunkett (2200m), which was won by Our Willow ($12), who sprinted home best when getting clear racing room late, with Gareth Rattray taking the winning drive for trainer Paul Carlson.
