Pure Laughter unseated her opposition in the running of the Toohey’s Ladyship Pace at Newcastle.
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“The win was very impressive,” said the horse’s Nemingha-based reinsman and trainer Danny Mackney. “We never expected anything close to that.”
Pure Laughter broke her maiden status with a win at Maitland on October 12 before the impressive Newcastle win, at race start 23.
“There was a couple of Sydney horses in the race as well,” added Mackney of the Newcastle race.
Pure Laughter commenced from the one barrier but soon found herself racing in on the leader’s back – Neverhaveiever, from the Darren Elder stables.
“She has got enough gate speed to cause trouble but they can get past her,” said Mackney who trains the five-year-old mare for local Tamworth business identities Rod and Di Hazell, of Hazells Farm & Fertilizer.
With the bell heralding, Mackney was shuffled to three back on the inside running line, when Sydney reinswoman and trainer KerryAnn Turner successfully challenged with Plain Baby for the lead over Neverhaveiever.
“I was pretty happy sitting where I was,” said Mackney. “There wasn’t anything coming from the back of the field.”
“When the horse (Firenze) galloped on the turn that opened up the heavens for me.”
With Pure Laughter gaining a passage off the inside running, Mackney made the most of the long Newcastle straight to go on for a 1.3 metre win over Wise Goddess (Josh Gallagher), with Plain Baby a short half head away in third.
Raced over the 1609m, Pure Laughter recorded her best mile rate to date when 1min 56.1sec appeared on the semaphore board.
“When I came back to scale I asked the steward if they had stopped the clock early,” joked Mackney. “They were running along.”
As a three-year-old, Pure Laughter had seven race starts for two minor placings before an extended spell and resumed racing in January at Tamworth, with Mackney showing plenty of patience with the Always A Virgin-Jamin mare.
“She is not without her issues – she takes a lot of work,” added the Kootingal-based trainer.
“She has got like an anxiety problem. She slowly accepted things and settled, and she has come good from there.”
Pure Laughter has had six starts this season for two wins.
Her quarters in Newcastle were covered in 28.2sec, 30.2sec, 28.2sec and 29.5sec.
Pure Laughter’s stablemate, Who Killed Kenny, also contested the Newcastle meeting on Saturday and finished fourth to Hosier Lane, from the Darren Elder stables, in the 1609m TAB.Com.Au Pace.
“They worked every bit of it,” said Mackney. “They had consistent quarters.”
Meanwhile, Sunday’s Dubbo harness meeting saw Moonbi pacer Shadow Dealer, with owner-trainer Wayne Gray in the spider, have a first-up win after resuming from a spell, in heat two of the Dubbo RSL Club Resort Heat 2 Pace.
