Spirit Of Jo, trained by Seymour father-son duo Lee and Shannon Hope and ridden by Jarrod Fry, wins the Stolz Benalla 3YO Maiden Plate at Benalla Racecourse. Photo: Jay Town/Racing Photos
Photo by
Jay Town
A Seymour father and son trainer combination had a string of brilliant results at Benalla Racing Club’s meeting on Monday, October 28.
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Lee and Shannon Hope, who operate out of the family stables in Seymour, had a winner in the 1206m Stolz Benalla Maiden Plate, with jockey Jarrod Fry saluting aboard three-year-old filly Spirit of Jo.
Paying $6, Spirit of Jo jumped well and was steered onto the rail, sitting in third for the first 800m, before swinging three-wide rounding the final bend and claiming the win by half a length at the line over the Patrick and Michelle Payne trained Looselipssinkships.
Speaking to Racing.com after the race, Shannon Hope was enthused by Spirit of Jo’s performance at Benalla, especially considering her last outing at Bendigo in June, where she ran seventh.
“She certainly has (come back well this preparation),” he said.
“She didn’t handle the wet track at Bendigo, running just for some experience, but went out and (did) really well, and has come back really good, trialled nicely.”
There is also positivity surrounding the filly’s potential, with Hope suggesting she will only get better from here.
“She’s got a lot of upside, going to improve again,” he said.
“She should get to the 14(00m), the mile, she’ll be a nice filly.”
Elsewhere on the card, it was a day of ‘almosts’ for the Hopes, with three other runners placing second.
Cameron Falls finished one and a half lengths off the lead in race four, Slipstreaming three and a quarter lengths back in race five, and Something Forjo going agonisingly close in race six, falling just a head short.
Sam Kennedy saluted aboard Sea Mist on her racing debut at Benalla. Photo: Jay Town/Racing Photos
Photo by
Jay Town
Those in attendance at Benalla Racecourse also witnessed a miraculous ride in the final race of the day, with apprentice Sam Kennedy delivering a win aboard the Matt Laurie-trained Sea Mist on her racing debut.
Leading the entire way and jumping out to a four-length lead with 200m to go, Kennedy faced immense pressure from the fast-finishing Abdication, but did just enough to hang on by half a head and seal a stunning debut victory.
It’s a story of great perseverance, with Kennedy missing out on being accepted into Racing Victoria’s apprentice jockey program and forced to apply for a second time, making the win that much sweeter.
“It's pretty amazing,” Kennedy told Racing.com after the race.
“I think if you get things too easily, they don’t mean as much to you. I don’t know if you saw, but I had a little tear there.
“It just means the world and to have the people here behind me, I just couldn’t be more grateful.”
All attention now turns to this Sunday, November 10, with Benalla Racing Club set to host the Mulwala Waterski Club Yarrawonga Cup in what promises to be another great day of action on the track.
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