Misfortune for Jye Mcneil at the jump-outs at Mornington turned into a lucky break for Jamie Mott at Sandown when he picked up the winning ride on Bancory Bay.
The win was hard fought with Mott having to pull out all stops to get past eventual third placegetter She Nailed It in the Evergreen Handicap (1500m) on Wednesday and then holding off a late lunge from Rapid Cheval.
McNeil was sent for scans on a potential leg injury after a horse flipped over on the Melbourne Cup winning jockey at Mornington on Wednesday morning forcing him to forego rides at Sandown.
He hopes to get the all-clear to ride at Flemington on Saturday where he is booked to ride Place Du Carrousel in the Group 2 Blamey Stakes (1600m).
The Mike Moroney and Glen Thompson-trained Bancory Bay registered his second win from nine starts on Wednesday and Thompson said the win may give the gelding the confidence to build on that success.
Bancory Bay tracked the leader She Nailed It before applying the pressure turning for home on the Hillside course, with the three remaining rivals six lengths off.
It turned into a war of attrition with Bancory Bay (6.50) prevailing by a short-half-head from Rapid Cheval ($2.80) with She Nailed It ($51) a half-head away third.
“Speaking to Jamie before the race, it worked out the way he thought, Thompson said.
“We wanted to be positive from the gate and we thought that horse would lead, and he rated him well, so we were holding our breath late waiting for the line to come up.
“Jamie’s a good strong rider and got the best out of him.
“He’s a horse that we have had a bit of an opinion of and it’s good to see him starting to live up to it, so hopefully he can get a bit of confidence out of that win.”
