By Garry Howe
The Pakenham-based training combination of Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman took a major share of the spoils on the first day of The Championships in Sydney on Saturday.
Chain Of Lightning got up at double figure odds in the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes, giving Moody his fourth win in the race named after his first boss in the industry and Coleman her first Group 1 success.
They went close to quinellaing the event, with stable star I Wish I Win flashing home for an impressive third in his first run since winning The Everest in October.
Moody and Coleman also had success at Caulfield’s big Easter Cup meeting, winning the Geoff Murphy Handicap with Legacies.
Cranbourne trainer Ciaron Maher saddled up six runners in the other Sydney feature, the Doncaster Handicap, and Nugget was the best performed, finishing fourth in a blanket finish to Celestial Legend, who gave 85-year-old Les Bridge a career highlight.
Maher did win the Chairman’s Quality earlier in the day with Circle of Fire.
Pakenham trainer Phillip Stokes saddled up a winning double at Caulfield with Oracle Son and Regal Azmon.
He also took home the $500,000 Country Discovery at Yarra Valley on Good Friday with Savannah Cloud and will likely to be set for the Goodwood Handicap in Adelaide via the Hareeba Stakes at Mornington.
Stokes has also confirmed that the luckless Amade, who ran an amazing fourth in the recent Adelaide Cup despite jockey Zac Spain losing his irons, would head to the Sydney Cup this weekend.
