It has been a long journey back to the winners stall for Tavonian after an injury emerged not long after putting together a hat trick of wins last year. A strained tendon halted any grandeur plans for the promising stayer and after 15 months since his last win at Ballarat in June 2017 it was terrific to see him regain his form and pass a crucial test on Benalla Cup Day.
A perfectly executed ride by “Jye McNeil” had the Tavistock gelding in a handy trailing position throughout and he showed his dominance in the home stretch by drawing away for a 2 length victory in the BM70 Comfort Inn Handicap. To say it was a huge relief for the team is an understatement as it has been a testing process with a few added hiccups along the way to get him back into peak fitness.
Co-Trainer, Lee commented afterwards “It has taken a long time to get him fit and today was a very good ride by Jye. He has had no luck with barriers in his previous races and finally today he was able to be ridden in a more forward role which made the difference.”
Jye wasn’t taking all the credit and said ” The horse got into a great rhythm and he was too good for them. On a flatter surface today he travelled up into the race really well and was never going to get beaten.”
Tavonian is a product from the 2014 New Zealand Ready to Run Sale and the lightly raced 6YO was purchased for $100K for long time stable clients. The gelding has now won four races from his 17 starts with prizemoney earnings just shy of $69,000. Making the trek to Benalla were stable stalwarts, John & Val Little together with Kevin & Sue Davey pictured in the trophy presentation.
