AS Jodi Worley trotted newly crowned Manilla Cup-winner Melted Moments back into the mounting yard, there were cheers from the punters but one small group of ladies were noticeably louder than the rest at Gunnedah.
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Those ladies – Angela Grills, Belinda Lenehan, Wendy Jackson and Jenny Tierney – were Melted Moments owners.
The group from Guyra bought the gelding – which is trained by Angela’s husband Paul – for an absolute pittance and have been reaping the rewards ever since.
“Four of us ladies all put in for the horse, we bought him for two grand and he’s probably won $70,000 for us now,” Angela said
“We’re all really good friends – and neighbours – and it’s just awesome.”
Before the excitement kicked in there were a few moments of nervousness after Melted Moments stormed home in the 1600-metre feature race.
It was unclear to most whether Melted Moments had done enough to beat race favourite Collins Street.
Melted Moments had come around the corner the widest of the field while a run had opened up for Collins Street in between runners before the two went toe-to-toe down the straight.
The official margin was Melted Moments by 0.11 lengths.
“We were a bit unsure,” Angela said.
“He’s a really hard horse to ride. Because he’s from Victoria, he hangs out a bit so we need to get him in a bit around the corner.
“Jodi’s ridden him for four wins.
“It was really good.”
The Guyra-trained gelding now has five wins from 27 starts and two over the last month.
Angela said Melted Moments would be taken to Grafton this Friday where the gelding would compete in a benchmark 65 race over 1700 metres.