By David Nagel
Peter Moody may have stolen the spotlight for Pakenham trainers this week – with the brilliant debut victory of Millane at Flemington on Saturday – but Frankie Stockdale and Phillip Stokes also had reason to smile.
Stockdale, one of the original trainers to live on-course at Tynong, broke the hearts of punters when The Cruiser ($34) scored at cricket-score odds at Sandown Hillside.
The Cruiser has a great constitution, with his Sandown win his sixth start for the year…and the third week in a row that he had backed up at the track!
Madison Lloyd settled the four-year-old gelding well back in the field, and swooped widest to claim a narrow victory on the line.
As far as tactics go, to turn his recent form around – it was all pretty simple.
“I think it was the fact that he jumped today, I just sat on him quiet in the gates,” Lloyd said post-race.
“He can sit back a bit, and you need to push him to stand forward, but he was standing there beautiful so I just left him alone.”
The Cruiser has now won three of 16 starts and ticked over the $100,000 mark with his win.
And Stokes made it a great week for local trainers when his three-year-old gelding Wish Master made it back-to-back wins at Pakenham on Thursday night.
Wish Master – who broke his maiden status with Fred Kersley aboard at Kilmore on 10 February – handled the step up to Benchmark-58 grade with ease. Jockey Sheridan Clarke punched the gelding out from the widest gate and led comfortably throughout – smashing he rivals by four lengths on the line.
The son of Mshawish/Elektra Lass has now won two of his five starts with the promise of many more to come.
