Connections pose with Megalomaniac following his win. Photo: Riccarton Park Racecourse
Megalomaniac continued his affinity with the Riccarton synthetic track, winning the Racecourse Hotel & Motor Lodge R65 (1200m) on Wednesday.
The five-year-old Pure Champion gelding had won on the track over the same distance in June and had finished runner-up over the same in July.
On Wednesday he was simply to strong for his rivals. Jockey Lisa Allpress sat midfield biding her time till they hit the straight when she let Megalomaniac stride forward and race past his rivals to win by a half head.
Trainer Andrew Carston was impressed with the effort and said he had targeted the race which was held as part of the Grand National Festival.
“It was a good win,” Carston said. “He seems to be developing into a polytrack specialist. He has grown another leg since that track has been in use and we saved him for this race.
“It was nice to get the win for a loyal bunch of owners who have been with me from the start.”
Megalomaniac provided visiting northern jockey Lisa Allpress with her 1800th win, a milestone Carston was pleased to be a part of.
“Lisa doesn’t ride a lot for me but she is one of the best in the country so it is always good to have her services,” he said. “She gets on well with this horse who has a good turn of foot and he showed it on Wednesday.
“It’s nice to be able to provide Lisa with a winner to reach that 1800th win.”
Carston’s team has been out in force during the week-long carnival and as well as this win, has notched up five placings.
“We’ve had some good performances last Saturday and on Wednesday, we just needed a bit of luck to get the win,” Carston said.
“I’m pretty happy with how the team has been going over the carnival. We have another few chances on Saturday so fingers crossed we get some more luck.”
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