Whanganui horses are in the money

COME FROM BEHIND: Wise Men Say (Shaun Fannin), right, would overtake Mr Mor (Charlie Studd) and the rest of the field to win Race 2 on the card. PHOTO/RACE IMAGES

IT was nearly a $20,000 double for jockey Shaun Fannin on the back of two Whanganui region horses in the big two races at the start of the Central Districts jumping season at Wanganui Racecourse yesterday.

There were four jumps scheduled for the 10-race Wanganui Jockey Club programme, and Fannin would take owner/trainer Raymond Connor's mount Wise Men Say to the winning post in the $20,000 Jolt Coffee House Open Steeple 3770m at midday.

The biggest of the four jumps races, Wise Men Say saw off Turakina's Kevin Myers mount Get Flash (Mathew Gillies) by a neck, both well ahead of the rest of the five-horse field.

Myers still had a good chance to make decent bank with two horses in the $20,000 Ken Duncan Racing Open Hurdle 3000m, with Fannin now riding the big hope Sea King while Gillies took on Gagarin for the seven-horse field.

It was another Whanganui horse in Anne Davies' Thatz David who made the early running, leading on the first run past the post from Awapuni's Just Ishi with Palmerston North's Ready Eddie in third.

Just Ishi would take the lead on the back stretch and jockey Gary Walsh would kick out to a three length advantage as the tempo picked up.

After negotiating the last two jumps, Walsh had time to look back and see Fannin bringing Sea King down the outside at a rate of knots.

However, Just Ishi held on to win by one and a quarter lengths, with Gillies getting Gagarin up for third place, giving Myers a 2-3 finish in the second featured jumps race.

However, it was still a very good day for Myers with his horses The Big Opal (Lisa Kennedy) and Viceroy (Charlie Studd) winning the $10,000 races 1 and 3, with a combined five Myers horses in the top three of both races.