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It was a memorable day at Matamata on Wednesday for Te Awamutu trainer Debbie Sweeney after she recorded her first win as a solo trainer when First Rock took out the Rees Tavern 1200.
Sweeney had won 260 races in partnership with her father Graeme Sanders before his retirement last year and Sweeney was pleased to get on the board on her own account.
“I had been struggling to get a win, I had been close a couple of times, but it’s great (to get the win today),” Sweeney said.
First Rock competed in the first two-year-old race of the season back in September and Sweeney was happy to record the win after three previous runner-up results.
“On the turn she was travelling really well, so I was hopeful,” Sweeney said. “She has always shown a lot of promise and she is going to be a lovely three-year-old filly.”
The win could be a sign of bigger things for Sweeney and her two-year-old El Roca filly who holds a nomination for the Gr.1 Courtesy Ford Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Awapuni later this month.
“We’ll see how she pulls up from this, but we will probably have a look at that (Sires’ Produce),” she said.