Run and won … a wrap up of racing at Keppel Park Tuesday 10 September.

A year ago, he was matching strides with Stakes horses and finished fourth to Golden Gift winner Shangri La Express in the Kirkham Plate at Randwick so there was little wonder Lamentum was sent out a well-backed favourite in today’s Maiden Plate (1100m) at Yeppoon.

The Deep Field three-year-old now trained in Rockhampton by Kerrod Smyth made Keppel Park his own, leading from start to finish to win by almost seven lengths. The margin would have been greater if jockey Ryan Wiggins had desired it. Lamentum burst away at the top of the straight and looked like he was in another postcode from the rest of the field. But Wiggins gave the gelding who started at the short odds of $1.60 an easy run to the post. Debutante Iconic Prince finished second for trainer Craig Russell and jockey Tasha Chambers with the Tom Bourke-trained Kai Mondo (Adrian Layt) in third place. Smyth said he was scratching his head when Lamentum was beaten into minor placings at his first two Rockhampton starts. “He got close to a horse like Shangri La Express in Sydney and then got beaten here twice so I was wondering if I had a dud,” Smyth said. “I just told Ryan to send him to the front, and today horse did the rest.”

It was the third winner of the day for Wiggins. He also rode a winning double for Callaghan Park trainer John Wigginton. The Wigginton stable scored an early double with three-year-old filly Better Than Words who beat odds-on favourite Moet At Midnight (Justin Stanley) in the QTIS 3YO Maiden (1300m) and then the stable notched up a double when former New South Wales galloper Last Ditch Effort scored a clear cut two-length victory over Mackay galloper Last Laugh and Whitsunday Session in the 0-60 Handicap (1000m).

Eight-year-old veteran Stampe looked sharp bouncing back to the winners’ list in the Open Handicap (1400m). The race was full of incidents with the popular elect Kick On Command (Justin Stanley) only traveling half the race distance before being eased out of the race. Stanley told trainer Clinton Taylor and QRIC stewards that the gelding “failed to stretch out.” Stampe, trained by Alan Jones and ridden by Paul Hamblin carried 62.5kg to defeat Moenave and Bondurant with Letmeletgo close in fourth place. Stampe’s previous win was at Thangool in July.

Other winners at Keppel Park were the promising four-year-old Hellish who completed a picket fence of victories in Central Queensland, leading his opposition to a merry dance in the Benchmark 65 Handicap (1200m). Hellish was saddled by Clinton Taylor and ridden by Justin Stanley; the Graeme Green-trained Xarello had a narrow win in the Maiden (1300m). The judge took a few minutes to decide the winner with a short half-head the margin separating former NSW country galloper Xarello and the heavily backed Macfarlane (John Stephens/ Adrian Layt); Mackay galloper Blue Swimmer lived right up to its pedigree winning the 1800m Benchmark 60 Handicap and Ricky Vale saddled Early Fusion to win the Benchmark 55 Handicap (1400m) with the winner ridden by McKenzie Apel.

RJC CEO, David Aldred