Luke Cartwright had to venture into regional Victoria, but his efforts were rewarded with a breakthrough metropolitan double at Bendigo’s Golden Mile Raceday.
The young apprentice from Mornington marked a major career moment by guiding Heavenly Eagle to an upset victory in race three, then backing it up two races later with a winning ride aboard Manolo Bling.
The Golden Mile meeting carried full metro status, making Cartwright’s wins all the more meaningful as he finally tasted Saturday success after several close calls in recent weeks.
Interestingly, Cartwright wasn’t booked for either winning mount initially. He picked up the ride on Heavenly Eagle – who had been listed as fourth emergency – when his original ride, Otago, was withdrawn. Then, after losing the mount on Reserve Bank earlier in the day, he stepped in for Tom Prebble on Manolo Bling.
“Savoire Faire in the Yarra Valley Cup nearly got it done and so did Red Phantom last Saturday but today, the first one (Heavenly Eagle), I knew he went well but it was a bit of surprise,” he said.
“I knew this one (Manolo Bling) was definitely my best ride and with 51 (kilos), if I could skip away I knew she’d be hard to beat.
“I’m rapt, I’ve gone from not riding a city winner to riding two on Golden Mile Day.”
Cartwright only resumed race riding last month after a lengthy spell on the sidelines recovering from neck and spine injuries sustained in a fall in November.
Manolo Bling, trained by Anthony and Sam Freedman, made it three wins from eight runs with an all-the-way triumph as the $2.90 favourite.
Earlier, Heavenly Eagle gave punters something to cheer about by grinding down Waimarie late, landing good bets after being backed in from $51 to $26 in markets offered by betting sites.