Diego makes it two in a row

From WA Pacing Cup to Pinjarra Cup, Diego NZ (Bettor’s Delight) has made it two in a row after taking out Monday’s (Mar. 6) $50,000 Pinjarra Junction Shopping Centre Pinjarra Pacing Cup for the second year in a row for master harness racing trainer Gary Hall Snr, driven to perfection by Maddison Brown.

Hall Snr walked away with the quinella in the race, with Jumpingjackmac NZ going down by a head in the run to the line over the 2692m journey around Pinjarra.

“I was more confident with Jumpingjackmac NZ because he had been working better than he ever had. I didn’t know Diego NZ was going to get the lead. I knew he was going to have to go forward, and Pinjarra is a testing track over that distance, and you know, he was first up, and he can pull a bit, so I was thinking he might have started pulling, but he got across reasonably easy and then sat on Gary, and what was what won him the race.” Hall Snr said.

Becoming just the second horse to take it out twice, Diego is etching himself into the history books, coming off a last start win in the WA Pacing Cup, with Hall Snr now setting his sights on the Western Trilogy – Nullarbor race on April 14.

“I haven’t really decided (what’s next), the main aim is the Nullarbor, the slot race on the 14th of April, but he’ll have a start or two before then, for sure.”

Diego NZ has been a very big part of Maddison Browns career, with Brown his main driver since February 2022, unfortunately missing out on the drive in the Pacing Cup due to a fall just a week earlier.

“I guess the partnership with Diego and myself started because he was never the ‘1s/2nd string drive’. So that’s how I landed the drive, and I built a great connection with him early on in his career, Snr decided that he would become my drive – lucky me.

“He is such a good horse because he is quite versatile, he has the high speed and toughness. He has improved so much from the first Pinjarra cup I drove him in, in 2021.” Brown said.

DIEGO REPLAY

Diego NZ is a special horse in more ways than one, with a rough start to life, his dam Sakura NZ passed away shortly after giving birth to him in 2015, raised by a surrogate mare in New Zealand.

Sakura NZ was a producer of three foals, Mister Bushido NZ, The Bachelor NZ and lastly Diego NZ, with all three very handy types on the track.

After adding a cool $375,750 to his purse from his last four start, Diego NZ was locked in, in recent weeks to slot holders Stephen Waters and Gary Hall Snr after their initial selection Gambit NZ sadly passed away due to colic complications.

“It’s just disappointing that nobody has picked up Jumpingjackmac NZ (For Nullarbor). I don’t think there’s any horse racing better than him in the state, really.

“The eastern states horses have to get over here, settle in and go for the race, it’s not that easy to do. And in Perth I don’t think there’s many horses you’d take in front of him.”

For complete race results, click here.

by Ashleigh Paikos, for RWWA