As she approached the line at the Macca Lodge/Southland Helicopters Mobile pace, she grinned. And by the time she reached the winning post with Dame West, (Air Major) it had become a full-fledged smile.
The victory over the Gavin Johnstone-trained mare was her first, in only her fourth race day ride.
From barrier four, Kyle got her runner on the move, with Magnetic Roxie taking on the role of pacer. Magnetic Roxie moved Dame West into the passing lane and Kyle surged in to win by a length and a quarter from Sure To Rise.
“The moment I pulled her out at the top of the straight, I knew I had it, and there’s no better feeling than that,” she said.
LADY WEST REPEAT
After excellent form without winning, Dame West became favorite for today’s race.
“I haven’t been nervous in almost any of my other races, but I was very nervous today. A lot of people told me my horse was the favorite and I wished they hadn’t. It put a bit of pressure on me (laughter).”
Kyle grew up riding horses with her parents Alister and Vicky and her sister Natasha.
“Mom and Dad probably expected me to do something different, but we grew up in it. I ended up at Kidz Kartz when I was five and I probably wasn’t meant to be there (laughter). I’m doing the cadet course now. I’m in my second season working on the starting team.”
She also works full-time for Branxholme trainer Kirk Larsen.
“Kirk has been great to work for and I couldn’t think of anyone better to learn from. He has been very good to me and I really appreciate that.”
After ticking off her first goal, she would now like to go on more outdoor rides.
‘It has proven to be much more difficult than I thought it would be. Hopefully today and my other starts will help me a bit.”
Another of Maddie’s goals is to win a race on a horse trained by her father.
“Absolutely. I’ll have to compete with Tash (sister Natasha) and kick her off some of dad’s horses. We’ve both got a few young horses coming through, so we’ll have the consistent rides on them, which will be good.”
For full race results, click here.
Through Bruce Stewartfor Harnesslink
#Maddie #win