SA hoop Kayla Crowther nails brilliant treble at Morphettville on Saturday

Jockey Kayla Crowther has skyrocketed to the top of the Adelaide jockeys’ premiership, snaring a treble from her four rides at Morphettville on Saturday.

Kayla Crowther steers Obi to a strong win at Morphettville on Saturday. Picture: Makoto Kaneko

Jockey Kayla Crowther has skyrocketed to the top of the Adelaide jockeys’ premiership after snaring a treble from her four rides at Morphettville on Saturday.

The hoop didn’t have a ride on the nine-race card until race six, but she had the hot hand when called upon, piloting Obi, Pure Bliss and Plus Fours to victory in an afternoon to remember.

“I had really good support, albeit only starting in (race) six, it’s just been a dream day,” Crowther said.

“You can’t do it without being on the right horses, so a big thanks to all the stables that have put me on today.”

While Crowther steered the more fancied Pure Bliss ($6) to an impressive victory for Will Clarken and Niki O’Shea, the hoop produced two upset results aboard Obi ($19) and Plus Fours ($46). Crowther now sits on 13 metro winners for the season, tied with young gun Rochelle Milnes atop the metro leaderboard.

Obi steals it at some price 💰

Who had that one punters? pic.twitter.com/lK3AnvxGkd

— Racing.com (@Racing) October 26, 2024

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Crowther’s win aboard Obi – prepared by Murray Bridger trainer Sarah Rutten – was the eight-year-old’s first race win in over two years, having last saluted at Balaklava in August 2022.

“I’m just thrilled for him, as you can see he lost his form, he’s an old horse, you need to keep him very fresh,” Rutten said.

“When he’s right, he’s super.

“We thought he warranted a crack in town with his runs, seeing the track a little firmer today suits him so I’m thrilled to see him get another win today.”

It was Rutten’s third winner of the week, after scoring a double with Fizique and Mr Whitacre at Penola on Monday. Rutten also notched an interstate double on October 7, when Eventually and Lift The Bar both saluted at Gawler and Mildura respectively.

Promising four-year-old Watchme Win has a clear message for punters, and they ought to be following after the gelding posted a dominant win in a Benchmark 84 over 1200m.

The talented son of Harry Angel now has three wins from six starts, but he almost never made it to the races. A horror trackwork incident, involving a riderless horse, saw him fracture a bone under his hock in 2023.

All we could do was watch 🔥

Watchme Win with a dominate performance to go back-to-back. pic.twitter.com/W4uPXADqu0

— Racing.com (@Racing) October 26, 2024

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Now healthy, the gelding is realising his potential, and according to trainer Andrew Gluyas, he has an attitude to match his ability.

“He has that arrogance about him, he likes to push you around,” Gluyas said.

“He’s got that strength which makes it hard to deal with, our team do a good job with him, to make sure things are going well and they all do that really well.”

Watchme Win was expertly rated by Group 1-winning hoop Lachlan Neindorf, who praised the performance.

“It’s not easy to do what he’s done, to jump from 64 grade to 84 grade, not only just to win but the way he did it was quite stylish,” Neindorf said.

“He’s a promising horse, still very lightly raced, he’s only going to get better wherever he goes.

“He’s got personality, but they are always the good ones, today just worked out perfectly.”

Originally published as SA hoop Kayla Crowther nails brilliant treble at Morphettville on Saturday