RACING
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HOMETOWN trainer Scott Spackman will have his first runner in the $85,000 Wagga Town Plate after Romancing To Win upset her more-fancied opponents in yesterday's Prelude.
Romancing To Win stormed home down the middle of the track to give Spackman the highlight of his short training career in the $30,000 John Clark 2014 Town Plate Prelude (1200m).
Spackman only took out his trainer's licence a little more than 12 months ago and will now head to the Wagga Gold Cup carnival with Romancing To Win in the feature sprint.
Former Southern District apprentice John Kissick brought Romancing To Win with a well-timed run as she hit the front inside the final 100 metres and held off Albury sprinter The Monstar ($5.50) to win by a nose.
Spackman was virtually lost for words after Romancing To Win booked her spot in the Town Plate.
"It's hard to explain," Spackman said.
"I'm 12 months in, I trained my first winner at Hillston 12 months ago.
"It's just one of them things, it's unbelievable.
"Dreams come true."
Romancing To Win is owned by Spackman, his wife, Donna, Brian and Lizzie McDonald and David and Jody Harris.
They purchased the mare over the internet from Sydney trainer David Vandyke and she has proven a brilliant buy.
Romancing To Win has now won two since his arrival in Wagga and never been further back than fourth in her six starts for Spackman.
He revealed it was only by chance that she started at Wagga yesterday.
"I had her in at Goulburn (today) and I really wanted to go to Goulburn because I thought it was a better race for her," Spackman said.
"She's been going very well.
"She's run into Power Alert twice, she ran fourth the other day when Andy Bloomfield's ride on her was absolutely outstanding.
"Bottomline is she's just a genuine little racehorse."
Spackman did not expect Romancing To Win to claim the prelude, but expected the four-year-old to run her usual honest race.
"I was very happy with her," Spackman said.
"I wasn't overconfident but I thought she would run a bottler.
"If she ran in the top five, I would have been over the moon.
"That's the type of mare she is, she just doesn't not try for me."
In what would have been a fairytale story, Contemplation ran a cracking race to finish third behind Romancing To Win and The Monstar.
In the race named in honour of the late John Clark, his horse Contemplation ($31.00) ran a huge race to finish third.
Another Wagga horse, Who's Paying, was close-up in fourth.
