Image: Bradley Photos
Marc and Mitchell Conners have won their first feature race as a training partnership.
Third and fourth generation trainers Marc and Mitchell Conners celebrated their first win as a partnership as stable star Willaidow wrote his own piece of history by capturing successive renewals of the JRA Plate at Rosehill.
Marc is the son of four-time Golden Slipper-winning trainer Clarry, whose father Clarry Conners Snr was also a well-known rider.
With 25-year-old Mitchell sent to the NSW provincial meeting in Newcastle to supervise another member of their team, Marc Conners had to enjoy the occasion without him, although it was no less special.
“It’s a lot of work for a small stable like ours. We have to put in a lot of hours,” says Marc Conners.
“These are the wins that are pretty special for us.”
Mitchell Conners was on the team before being promoted to training partner and Conners said he earned the position.
“He put in the hard yards. He put in a lot of work,” he said.
“He’s driving home from Newcastle today, he got beaten up there, so this will cheer him up.
“It’s a proud moment for me to have him next to me. He will remember that for a long time.”
Willaidow ($4.60) won the corresponding race 12 months ago when it was known as the Southern Cross Stakes (1200m) and in recent times became the first horse to conquer the race in consecutive years.
He looked like he was the unlucky man of the race when he was held up for a run down the straight before James McDonald got him free to beat The Instructor ($6.50) by a short head with Zarastro ($9.50) another length further in third.
The seven-year-old winner of nine of his 26 starts has over $720,000 to his name and has been a stable standard-bearer for several seasons, a remarkable feat considering the odds he has overcome.
“He’s a $7,000 horse and look what he’s done,” Conners said.
“He broke his cannon bone after his third win, and he came back and did what he did. For a stable like us, they are dream horses. They are the backbone. They pay the bills.”
Conners has no set plan for Willaidow and will let the dust settle before working his way through the upcoming Carnival races.
Trainer Chris Waller and jockey James McDonald both enjoyed great afternoons on Saturday with five winners each, three of which were combined courtesy of Pippie Beach, Willie Oppa and Eagle Express.
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