Sporting Post-sponsored rider Tristan Godden celebrated a personal milestone at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on the Youth Day Public Holiday racemeeting on Monday.
Tristan registered a double on the afternoon to take his season tally to 50 winners – a target set by himself at the start of the term, and with which he is justly proud.
Tristan Godden poses with the happy Hereinafter connections (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
“I am very pleased, and we still have over six weeks to go to the end of the season. So I will be continuing to work hard to add to my tally. Every one of my winners was achieved on KZN soil, so that gives me confidence to up the ante next season and travel to raise the bar,” he added.
The first of Tristan’s winners came in remarkable circumstances in the fourth race, the Pick 6 opener, when Mark Dixon’s 4yo gelding Jazz Festival (10-1) lost five lengths at the start, but made up ground down the inside in the home run to get up and nab Shotgun Willie (13-2), who looked a winner late in the race.
It was a composed display from the saddle by Tristan, who never bustled his mount and reaped the rewards.
In the penultimate race of the afternoon, Tristan dented Richard Fourie’s hopes of another winner when he judged things perfectly and took Mike Miller’s Hereinafter (11-2) from start to finish over the 1000m in an MR 73 Handicap for the fairer sex, to hold off Fourie on the tote favourite, Maggie Smith.
Hereinafter, a pace-loaded daughter of Futura, changed legs late, after being passed by Jane’s Vision at around the 300m, and kicked on well to maintain her good form.
It’s just over a decade since Tristan’s first career winner at Clairwood on 11 May 2014, when he won on Secret Traveller for Kumaran Naidoo.
