SYDNEY jockey Kathy O’Hara wrote her name into the record books by becoming the first female to ride the winner of the Wagga Gold Cup (2000m) yesterday.O’Hara pulled out everything she had as she punched out Voice Commander to a tenacious victory in yesterday’s $140,000 feature race.O’Hara returned to the mounting yard very popular with both a big group of owners and punters as the $4.00 favourite saluted by the barest of margins.The 24-year-old said victory in the Gold Cup provided a feeling better than most wins in Sydney.“I’m thrilled to bits,” O’Hara said.“It’s always nice to come back and win a big country cup.“It’s better here today than it was when he won the Frank Underwood Cup in Sydney.“It feels like winning a Group One race.”The Cup was O’Hara’s fifth ride on Voice Commander and her second victory.O’Hara was not sure whether she won the race or not on the line, but she never doubted Voice Commander’s fight.“I couldn’t quite tell (if I won), I was just hoping,” O’Hara said.“I pulled him out into the middle of the track around the turn because I thought that was where the better going was.“As soon as I pulled him out, he started wandering out because there was no fence there to run alongside.“But as soon as he sighted the other horse and it levelled up, he just kept sticking his head out.”Trainer Nick Olive was all about enjoying the win yesterday and said Voice Commander will now have a week off after such a draining run.He said there was the Listed WJ McKell Cup (2400m) at Rosehill on May 21 but conceded the horse’s next assignment was the furthest thing from his mind.
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