Tassie drivers reach milestones

It had taken five race meetings, but driver Troy McDonald finally notched up his 200th driving win in Launceston on Sunday evening.

McDonald achieved the feat on the Ben Yole-trained Montana Lad in the Rare Earth Stakes.

“It was good to get a winner more than anything. It has been a few weeks since I have had a winner,” said McDonald after the race.

Settling one-out and three-back, McDonald worked into the race from the 1200-metre point on the $3.40 chance before sustaining a long run when taking up the lead at the 600-metre mark.

“It worked out really good, we slotted into a good spot, and he just jogged up to them down the back, and he was excellent to sustain that run,” said the driver.

McDonald ended the night with a driving double when scoring in the last event on Oneofthelads.

“He is just a trier, and if he gets the right run, he is always there about,” McDonald said post-race.

Another driver to chalk up a milestone win was Todd Rattray, who notched up his 700th winner in the sulky when scoring on the Michael Laugher-trained Emjays Black Chip.

From barrier four, Rattray pushed forward to find the spot outside the leader and proved too tough for Kiwi import Stravros The Terror in a great battle up the home straight.

“It is probably as good as he has ever gone, in saying that he has won in 1:57 sitting in the death here before,” said Laugher post-race.

The win of Emjays Black Chip was the last leg of a race-to-race double for Laugher, who prepared Christian Jaz to victory in the race prior.

The gelded son of Christian Cullen used his good barrier to his advantage to lead all the way and score.

“He has been going really good for a while now, and he drew a bit better tonight and was able to find the front and was lucky enough to hang on,” said the trainer.

“Both are going well, they might need a junior driver claim soon, but they both keep fronting up and earning a cheque,” added Laugher.