Thought never to race again five-year-old Kempsey mare Sarasota Bay again showed her prowess with a sterling win for 76-year-old trainer Roy Franklin in the $27,000 Coopernook Hotel-Hannam Vale Cup Publicans Purse over 1600m at Taree on Friday.
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Franklin said he cried when he found the mare stripped of flesh after getting caught in a fence just over a year ago.
"She was ripped to pieces and I thought she would have to be put down."
But it was a jubilant yell of success when Sarasota Bay, backed into $4.20 favourite after some pre and race sensations, to score by half a length from 2014 cup winner, nine-year-old grey gelding Clunes Rocket, trained at the track by Ross Dawson.
"I thought my mare was out of her class," Franklin said of his biggest win since taking up racehorse training about 14 months ago with Sarasota Bay his first galloper.
But his strapper wife, Tammy, chimed in: "I never doubted her."
The mare notched her fourth win at her 18 th start and was given a beautiful trailing run by apprentice jockey Jenny Duggan from Gosford.
The race was full of sensations with local trainer Ross Stitt having the then favourite Blinkin Artie scratched at the starting stalls.
This was after being inspected by a vet when it played up and then having to see Port Macquarie jockey Cejay Graham slip from the saddle on his well-backed Editors when making a move and getting squeezed by runners in front of the grandstand.