 Former Wimmera trainer Darren Weir experienced his greatest thrill in racing
this afternoon when She's Archie provided him with his first stakes race win in the Feltex
Carpets SA Oaks at Morphettville.Weir, who is
now based at Ballarat, was not surprisingly a bundle of excitement after his filly pulled
out all of her reserves for a half head win over the favourite Tully Thunder.
The win extended a Morphettville love affair for leading
Melbourne jockey Peter Mertens. If Asia should happen to win Monday's Adelaide Cup there
could be a point in renaming the track to "Mertensville."
For Weir though the excitement of the win was close to a
touch over whelming.
 "This is bloody
terrific," Weir exclaimed as his filly was led back to scale.
"It's an absolute dream come true," he added.
"This filly was my first ever Group race runner and for her to finish second in a
Group One and then win the next one is amazing."
She's Archie, a daughter of the unheralded Victorian sire
Archway, gave a group of country "battlers" the thrill of a lifetime.
She's Archie was bred and is raced by a group including long
time Weir clients Worrall and Lorraine Dunn.
Oaks ambitions for connections were raised by country
Victorian jockey Garry Murphy after a second placing at a lowly meeting at Echuca.
"Garry had a good opinion of the filly and he said the
Oaks races in Adelaide would be an option," Weir reflected.
 "At that time I guess
it was just really a dream. Sure I hoped he would step up to that, but a race like the
Oaks is so far off," Weir added.
Weir began training about six years ago after spending time
linked closely with leading Stawell based trainer Terry O'Sullivan.
"I used to be a farrier and a horse breaker back before
I started training," Weir reflected. "Back then I used to also do a lot of
pre-training."
For the 32-year-old trainer today's win was a dream come
true. The win clearly eclipsed his previous biggest race success.
"I guess a race in town or one of the country cups would
have been my biggest win before today," Weir said. "This is just so much better
it's unbelievable."
In a great finish She's Archie found just enough to hold out
the Ross McDonald trained Tully Thunder. The half head win by She's Archie denied McDonald
a Honda Civic as part of the Trainer's Treasure Trove bonus scheme.
The Graeme Rogerson trained Gold Lottey gave a good sight
before finishing third. The well fancied Michael Moroney trained The Mighty Lions was
fourth home. |
