Ben Thompson intensified his challenge for a maiden Brisbane Jockey’s Premiership when he claimed five winners at Doomben on Wednesday.
The day’s results allowed Thompson to push past Ryan Maloney to re-take the lead in the Jockey’s Premiership, but these two riders are still only separated by a couple of wins and their battle could well continue all the way to the end of the season.
Adding further interest to that race is the fact that defending champion Angela Jones, who scored an historic Brisbane Jockey’s Premiership win last year when becoming the first female rider to take the honours, is tracking the two leaders in third place … still with ground to make up, but close enough to take a run at it.
Thomson’s midweek winners came for five different trainers, over distances ranging from 1110m to 2040m and at prices ranging from $3.60 to $26 … with not a favourite amongst them.
Thompson kicked his day off with a win aboard the Liam Birchley Hidden Whisper who was roundly neglected in the betting at $26 … a result which begs the question, when will punters ever learn about Birchley and his two-year-old winners!
Thompson then made it a race-to-race double with the Matthew Dunn trained Vivika ($5) in the second race.
He did not have a ride in race three … but then stepped right back into it with another race-to-race double in races four and five, winning for Tom Charlton with Good Banter ($3.60), and for Todd Pollard with Valencia Roc ($4.20).
Then Thompson pushed the envelope even further in race six, completing a race-to -race treble when saluting aboard the Stuart Kendrick trained Retainer who became another double-figure odds winner for Thompson at $10.
At that stage, Thompson had secured four winners from four rides at the meeting … or … if you want to take it back a step to his win in the last race at the Sunshine Coast on Sunday, five winners from his last five rides which is as strong a line of riding form you are likely to see.
That’s where the winning sequence ended, but even finishing in last place in the seventh race, or having to settle for second place in race nine, in his two remaining rides on the card couldn’t take away the sweet taste of success that Thompson had achieved as he emerged as the big winner on the day.
