Top galloper Dalasan wound back the clock to win his first race for almost two and half years in the race named after his Hall of Fame trainer in Listed Leon Macdonald Stakes at Morphettville on Saturday.
The best credentialed horse in the race flexed his muscle late in a messy finish to defeat Just Folk and Oh Mo at his first run back from a spell that will set him up perfectly for another Melbourne Spring Carnival assault.
Dalasan’s win was the second led of a double for the Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas stable after Courageous Hearts broke through early in the day.
Victorian trainers claimed half of the bumper 10-race card Peter Moody winning the opening race with the heavily backed Merry Mac Boy.
Lindsay Smith and Henry Dwyer both had winners alongside the Lindsay Park stable of Ben and JD Hayes who won with Rigel Star while the Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained Heywood won impressively under Campbell Rawiller.
Dalasan’s win kicked off a huge day for the SA racing industry who celebrated the 2021-22 season at the Racing SA Industry Awards later that night.
Multiple Group 1 winner Behemoth made it back-to-back wins as South Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year.
Barend Vorster capped a huge season to win his first John Letts Medal, narrowly beating Kayla Crowther for the top award.
Crowther was recognised for her outstanding season when she was named the South Australian Jockey of the Year and South Australian Provincial and Country Jockey of the Year.
Richard and Chantelle Jolly made Australian racing history when they were officially presented with the metropolitan premiership as well as the CS Hayes Award for the 2021-22 South Australian Trainer of the Year.
Murray Bridge trainer Garret Lynch won the South Australian Provincial and Country Trainer of the Year while rising star of the saddle Ben Price completed a clean sweep of the three apprentice awards, the Leon Macdonald Award for Apprentice of the Year, the South Australian Metropolitan Apprentice Jockey of the Year and the Caitlin Forrest Award as the South Australian Provincial and Country Apprentice Jockey of the Year.
There were two new awards, Samantha Cahill, from the Jon O’Connor yard, winning the inaugural South Australian Strapper/Stablehand of the Year, while Murray Bridge based Hazel Fertier was named South Australian Trackwork Rider of the Year while Manhatten Times was named the 2021-22 South Australian Best Performed Horse.
And in recognition of the hard work of its volunteers the Port Augusta Racing Club claimed the Most Outstanding Achievement Award by a club, with Kerry Brinkley from Kangaroo Island presented with the Most Outstanding Achievement Award by an individual.
IMAGE: Atkins Photography
