Racing: Two out of three fantastic

Sarah Voigt had two wishes when she went to the Te Aroha races to ride for the first time yesterday - to do everything her boss Jim Pender asked and not to hurt anyone.

The 19-year-old South African-born apprentice achieved much more than her two goals - she came away with two wins from three rides.

But she has a long way to go to achieve her lifetime goal.

"I used to sit on the back of my uncle's racehorse in Johannesburg and dream I was a champion," she said after landing Jimmy Jump an easy winner of Race 8 then beating senior jockeys Andrew Calder and Noel Harris on outsider Kukri Lane in the last.

Voigt came to New Zealand with her family when she was 11. Her mother is a nurse and her father manages a division of the Bay of Plenty Times.

"I am apprenticed to Alan Jones at Cambridge, but when he went to Australia for the winter I transferred to Mr Pender for three months. I'm on loan."

* Former Auckland Racing Club racing manager Andrew O'Toole has been appointed general manager of the Alice Springs Turf Club.

The 38-year-old spent nine years at Ellerslie. He was assistant chief executive to David Lloyd from 1999 and racing manager from 2000. He was made redundant in September.