WHEN you’re sent out race favourite, on a horse you rode to victory at its previous start, there’s no room for failure.
And Nyah West jockey Madison Lloyd didn’t.
But as the line drew close in the $27,000 Living Here Benalla Handicap over 1406m, so did Galactic Express, which came roaring down the middle of the track.
With 150m to go the pair had streeted the rest of the field and settled down to fight it out.
A two-horse contest, which probably had a few punters with their hearts in their mouths, after her horse Let Fly finished maybe a lip away from needing a photo finish to confirm the heavily-backed $2.80 shot had secured the win.
However, if the punters were a little panicked, Lloyd post-race made it clear she thought the result was never in doubt.
“I’m two for two on her now and she was absolutely beautiful today,” Lloyd said.
“My intention had been to ride her the same way I did last time (at Werribee on February 12), just come out of the gates, just on her neck.
“She was really happy and she was even a lot more relaxed today, and was able to get a bit more cover – that was my plan last start but she just wanted to go forward.
“But really, today she was beautiful throughout the run, and when we got to the 600m, that was where I had to bring her out three deep and get her going and she was super as she hit the line.”
Even as she was riding hard for the win, Lloyd said the thought popped into her mind that “I think she’s ready to step up to the mile”.
The now Bendigo-based Lloyd also agreed the Matt Cumani-trained four-year-old mare had developed into a real fighter on the track.
“She kicked clear of them (in the straight) and then once that horse came up on her outside and almost had her, she really dug deep and hit the line super,” she said.
The Cumani stable also praised Lloyd’s ride, her positioning early in the race, her patience to wait for room to get into the clear, and then popping the question in the straight at just the right time.
Stable representative Nik Plant also agreed Lloyd’s back-to-back wins were great for Let Fly and her connections.
“Maddy gave her a great ride, she didn’t panic and she just really let the horse get through her gears and it was great to get the result.”
