Ford double Taylor made

Taylor Ford surged to equal top of the Leading Female Drivers Premiership table with a winning double in Hobart on Friday night.

Taylor’s first success came early in the opening race on the card with Mary Jill coming from last over 2090 metres in the Crown Lager Pace.

Taylor took the Courage Under a Fire-Flying Perec five-year-old mare back off the arm after drawing the outside of the front-line, settling last a good 35 metres off the leader.

Ricky Duggan made his move out three-wide on the well-supported Albayzin at the bell and Ford was quick to latch onto the three-wide train, three back.

With the leading division caving in at the 400-metre pole Mary Jill ($18.00) ran to third before storming to the lead in the home stretch, proving too strong for Albazin and Bigsie Neptune.

Taylor employed vastly different tactics on the Ben Rossendell-trained eight-year-old Macardle-Lady Lisa gelding Warrior Mac driving through from inside the second row to trail the leader and race favourite El Jays Monza ($2.25) into the first corner.

Warrior Mac ($4.80) sat quietly behind the leader until turning for home where Taylor made her move along the Roberts Sprint Lane, claiming victory by three metres in a mile-rate of 2:03.7.

The Evicus and Dandy Patch Preludes went the way expected with both favourites Spoilt Sport and Resurgent Storm saluting.

Trainer-driver Rodney Ashwood fired Spoilt Sport to the early lead, the Sportswriter-Tara Lassie filly ran them ragged scoring by seven metres, recording a mile-rate 1:59.6.

Spoilt Sport($2.50) has now won both the Prelude of the Elderslie Horse Care and Spelling Sweepstakes and Tasracing Evicus and will be looking to go one better than its second to Enterprising Milly in the Sweepstakes Final.

Roger Whitmore’s Resurgent Storm ($1.20) kept its unbeaten record intact cruising to its third straight victory in the Tasracing Dandy Patch Prelude.

The Ricky Duggan driven Betterthancheddar-Resurgent Star two-year-old bay colt was forced to come from last, running to the front turning for home to record a 3.3-metre win in a mile rate of 2:04.3.

Watch Taylor Ford bring Mary Jill from last in the opening race of the Tasmanian Pacing Club meeting in Hobart on Friday night.

Shane Yates