Lismore Cup day proved to great day for two Grafton stables yesterday.
The feature sprint event of the afternoon the Untamed Handicap 1200m went to the Samantha McGuren trained Fortyfive Parklane.
Ridden by Kyle Wilson-Taylor who had a massive day winning four of the eight races, Fortyfive Parklane stalked the leaders before shifting into the clear near the 300m to race away and win with some authority.
It was the sixth win for Fortyfive Parklane since joining the McGuren camp as a tried horse from Victoria. To add even more merit to the astute purchase it was the second time Fortyfive Parklane had been sold as a raced horse with his previous stable giving him eight starts for one distant third on the Pakenham synthetic.
The other Grafton Trainer celebrating was Dwayne Schmidt after posting the quinella in the Country Maiden 1400m. Schmidt was well represented in the event with three of the nine runners.
It was however left to Shadesofmidnight to finally be rewarded with an overdue win.
Like Fortyfive Parklane, Shadesofmidnight was purchased from Victoria after having been unplaced on six occasions.
Whilst she had not been able to win a race before yesterday Shadesofmidnight had been very consistent having finished in the top six at eleven of her twelve starts for the stable.
Given a peach of a ride by Ash Morgan the mare settled three pairs back before shifting into the clear on the point of the turn and letting down nicely to hold off the fast finishing stablemate Golden Garden.
