A rails-hugging ride by Linda Meech has helped Bandipur to a hard-fought win to bring up a double on the day for the jockey.
Meech had earlier ridden Grinzinger Star to upset victory over odds-on favourite Mr Quickie in a tight finish to the Tile Importer Handicap before Bandipur rallied strongly when it mattered to take out the Ladbrokes Handicap (1200m).
Sporting the famous royal blue silks of the global Godolphin operation, Meech had the James Cummings-trained Bandipur ($7) on the fence in behind the lead and then hugged the rail to take a run in the straight and the sprinter dug deep to get home in a driving finish.
Spirit Of Aquada ($9) was a half-head away second with a half-length to Chauffeur ($26) third.
“It's my first ride for James. I'm pretty excited,” Meech said.
“I drew barrier one and didn't really have many options. I was happy to go there. I thought they would roll off the fence because it's been looking like the fence has been off but I actually think the track has raced really even today.”
Bandipur took his record to six wins from 17 starts and Cummings' Melbourne-based assistant trainer Kate Grimwade said the four-year-old always tried his best.
“He's a beautiful horse. He never fails to give his best at the races,” Grimwade said.
“I thought his best wasn't going to be quite good enough there but then he dug deeper and Linda just managed to get the last few lengths out of him. And it was a fantastic performance.”
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