GOULBURN trainer Kurt Goldman realised a childhood dream by winning the $160,000 Wagga Town Plate (1200m) on Thursday with Irish Songs.
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The second emergency of the field, Irish Songs ($9.00) relished the heavy track and unleashed a devastating sprint to win the Town Plate in fine style.
Irish Songs, with Kayla Nisbet in the saddle, came flying down to the outside, hitting the front at the 200 metre mark and ran away to score from Southern Lad ($2.90) and Man Of Peace ($18).
It provided both Goldman and Nisbet with their first Town Plate. For Goldman, it was a dream come true.
"I snuck into this racecourse when I was about 17 years old. Underage, I'll admit it, I was drinking, I was gambling, I was running through the betting ring thinking I knew everything. It's the only race I've ever wanted to win," Goldman told Sky Racing.
"People say, what's that one race and this Town Plate is something I've been chasing for 16 years.
"I've never had a runner in it. We thought about putting Eckstein here, we had Hellbent one year, we could have easily gone down that path but I knew I had the right horse today."
Irish Songs, winner of the Moruya Town Plate last start, won his maiden at Gundagai on Snake Gully Cup day in 2018.
Goldman has always held a huge opinion of the horse and was thrilled to see him deliver on his potential.
"I always thought he was stakes class, so much so that I went out and went to Perth and bought his half sister at the sales because I always told the owners he was going to win a good race," Goldman told Sky.
"As soon as I legged Kayla on today, I said I'm going to make it real simple, I said he'll just win.
"He'd come on since that Moruya race. He had, what I thought was the best wet form in the race. He had solid metropolitan wet form, all he had to do today was get the right run and he got that and he won."
Goldman hopes the win will secure him a place in the Kosciuszko later in the year.
"When he won the other day, the way he came through that run, I wanted to come here today," he said.
"We might look to go to Brisbane with him. I think that win there gets him into the Kosciuszko I'm sure."
While the John O'Shea stable just missed in the Town Plate, they unveiled a smart two-year-old in Lion's Roar at Wagga earlier in the day.
Lion's Roar ($2.60) was on debut but showed he has a bright future with a fighting victory in the Good Luck Andrew Bensley 2YO Showcase Handicap (1200m).
Ridden by Shaun Guymer, Lion's Roar held off the Gary Colvin-trained debutant Another One ($9.50) in a tight finish, with Mr Moppett ($2.80) a further two lengths back in third.
Other winners on Town Plate day were Express Courier ($3.10), Fat Gecko ($3.30), Bell's Innocent ($4.40) and Sumdeel ($7.00).
Blaike McDougall leads the Tye Angland Medal at the halfway mark and sits two points ahead of Shaun Guymer.
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