There were a few anxious moments at the start but Rocknroll Sass made it two wins on the trot to book her place in the NSW Breeders Challenge semi-finals.
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Once again the two-year-old filly was able to use the sprint lane to win at Riverina Paceway.
Richardson was confident the daughter of Rock N Roll Heaven would have too strong a sprint if she found herself close enough to strike.
The plan worked out exactly that way.
"She is quite a nice filly and we ended up where I thought we would be," Richardson said.
"She is just a little speed rat and I thought she would be too quick for them up the straight."
However Richardson revealed not everything went exactly how he and partner Alanah Pitt would have wanted on Friday after showing signs she was in season.
"I was a bit worried this morning getting her ready when she started horsing pretty bad," he said.
"She has been in a bit of a mood all day and nearly galloped out of the gate so I was just glad she was able to hold it all together and settle herself down."
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The filly has now won two of her four starts for the Leeton couple, to go along with a third on debut.
She finished second in three of her six starts before being purchased by Michael Ross.
Coming out of the Bathurst Gold Tiara series, Richardson believes being allowed to mature more has been a big boost for Rocknroll Sass.
"She got put in the paddock and I believe that's the best thing that could have happened to her," he said.
"I think she will come back better next year as she's still not mature."
It was part of a double for the Leeton combination with Pyrrhic Dancer also successful on Friday.
Coming off a much improved second last time out, the seven-year-old finished too well for his rivals to down Wongalea Charli by a head.
It his sixth win from 47 starts and equalled his career best mile rate of 1:57.1, a time set when he last won in December.
The semi-finals of the NSW Breeders Challenge will be at Menangle next Saturday.
Meanwhile brothers Scott and Brad Hewitt combined to win two of the other heats across the big 10-race card.
First Lulu Mae clocked a slick mile rate of 1:54.0 to win the other fillies heat before Marvella caused a surprise to take out one of the two-year-old colts and geldings heats.
Blake Jones combined with Canberra trainer Michael Hawke as Im In Trouble made it four wins from six starts.
Meanwhile Brad Hewitt took out the last two races with Triple Four and Sweet Jemma to make it four wins for the day.
Courtney Rees
Courtney is a sports journalist from The Daily Advertiser focusing on Group Nine, Southern Inland, cricket, harness racing and greyhound racing.
Courtney is a sports journalist from The Daily Advertiser focusing on Group Nine, Southern Inland, cricket, harness racing and greyhound racing.
