Helped in no small part by an excellent ride from apprentice Madison Lloyd who never panicked when blocked for a run on the turn before steering through a slight gap and stealing a length or two from the rest of the field on the turn.
When she hit the front her aggressive riding and perfect timing saw Sly Samba Deer hang on by a head to record the fourth win of his 18-race career.
At 10/1 on his home track – backed in from 12/1 Sly Samba Deer offered value for locals in the know and Osborne followers, who know he is always thereabouts at home track meetings.
But possibly the horse to watch was Marcheechi, which was screaming down the outside of the field and given one more stride would have been the winner by a head.
Jockey Michael Dodd just needs a few tips in timing from the apprentice winner. Marcheechi made it something of a Benalla double as its trainers, Leon and Troy Corstens, recently added a large Benalla property to their diverse racing enterprise.
After the race Osborne was pretty happy with the horse he bred and races in partnership with his veterinarian wife Caroline.
“Last start he went out to 1200 m and he just knocked up in that last little bit there and (jockey) Ethan Brown said put a claimer on him and get back to 1100 m and he won’t be far away,” Osborne said.
“But he’s got to have everything go right for him, he’s a bit of a handful to work with, as you would have seen in the mounting yard today,” he said.
But Sly Samba Deer stamped himself as a versatile all-rounder winning on a heavy nine, good four and Friday’s soft seven.
Osborne must have decided Lloyd and her 2 kg apprentice claim was a good thing; giving her a run on his four-year-old mare Royal Music in the next race, the $22,000 CA Sinclair Pork Wholesalers over 1606 m but they finished well back in the 14-horse field.
“I thought her claim might help and a win would have been great,” Osborne added.
“Royal Music winning would have been great; I bought her for the Benalla Cup but as that has been changed back to 1400 this year, and now I’m stuck with a stayer my daughters tell me is useless anyway,” he laughed.
But the star of the nine-race meeting had to be jockey Lewis German. The 21-year-old apprentice put together an astonishing purple patch in the middle of the card, winning the $23,000 Specsavers Plate over 1206 m on Vampish; the $23,000 Steph Ryan Plate over 1606 m on Encumbrance and then the $23,000 Comfort Inn Benalla Plate over 1406 m on Miss Madec – giving him a treble in races three, four and five.
