The decision by emerging apprentice Laura Lafferty to relocate from Melbourne has paid its first major dividend with the 23-year-old breaking through for her maiden Sydney metropolitan success in the Country Classic at Rosehill.
Lafferty managed the feat aboard one of the outsiders of the field in $101 chance Real Time Warrior, who relished the strong tempo to unleash a barnstorming finish from near the rear and claim the 2000 metre race.
Lafferty and her manager Liam Prior felt she would get limited opportunities in Melbourne during the spring carnival, so she made the move to Sydney in October to begin a three-month loan to Randwick conditioner John O’Shea.
“I’m here for three months but I’m open to staying. I will see how it goes,” Lafferty said.
“This is my first Sydney winner, I’ve had a few in Melbourne.
“Liam Prior prompted me to make the move to Sydney. At the start of the spring, it was going to be hard to make my mark in Melbourne, so I wanted to get a head start in Sydney for the summer months.
“I’ve joined the John O’Shea stable and I’m hoping I can really kick along.”
Lafferty produced a beautifully judged ride on Real Time Warrior and said she didn’t dismiss his chances despite his price.
Nor did some punters in his hometown of Coffs Harbour with the TAB taking several $50 and $100 wagers on the roughie, who got to as much as $201 before the late specking.
Real Time Warrior is trained by Joanne Hardy, who said he had been a tremendous campaigner for the stable.
“He’s a lovely boy. He’s won nine races for us now and he’s just been a really good bread and butter staying horse in the country,” Hardy said.
“In the (country) staying races they tend to pull up midrace. He tends to over-race and he doesn’t finish off.
“Today, they really hooked along at a good pace and it just suited him.”
Real Time Warrior ($101) scored by a half-length over Five Kingdom ($5) with Nemingah ($11) another neck away third.
