Ritchie and wife Colleen celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary this
coming weekend, a fact made public by several races sponsored in their honour
on the Te Rapa programme during the day. In a fitting result the Ritchie
trained Dalghar (Fr) three-year-old filly confirmed the promise she had shown
when winning at the venue last month with another comprehensive performance.Settled beautifully in the trail by apprentice Brendan Hutton, the filly lobbed along nicely behind the speed before being asked to extend into a gap early into the run home. The response was immediate as she burst to the lead before cruising to the line to win comfortably by three quarters of a length at the post.
Ritchie was feeling on top of the world as he made his way through a throng of well-wishers to speak to media after the race.
"It's a big day for us with the family, except for Craig who's still in Sydney, all here so we've had a lot of support," he said.
"The owners of this horse have been owners of mine for 40 years so it increases the joy we're feeling right now."
Ritchie admitted he had been confident before the race although a little nervous if things didn't pan out in their favour.
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"If she'd run last there weren't enough places for me to hide," he joked.
"She drew one and I knew coming up from 1200 to 1400 metres she could sit a bit handier than last time.
"Brendan gave her a nice ride and she does have a turn of foot. We were aware that her main rivals were likely to get back in the run so if she was handy they would have had to come home in a pretty quick time to catch her."
The race was also a triumph for Hutton who registered the 100th win
of his career on the filly."It's a great feeling and I'd just like to thank everyone who's helped me along the way, especially the Ritchie family who've supported me like I was their own son," he said.
"She's very smart and in her element today. She got to the line very strongly."
Her sire Dalghar enjoyed good results at the NZB National Yearling Sale Series last week with colts from Press Leak and Svita selling for $220,000 and $125,000 in the Premier Sale with a further 11 yearlings selling in the Select Sale for up to $100,000.
– NZ Racing Desk
