At just her fifth start for premier trainer JODIE Lord, Good Odds Emma claimed the final NSW Group 1 of 2022 when she took out the Sportsbet Megastar final at Dapto on Thursday night.
The Gunning-based Lords – JODIE and Andy – have had an incredibly successful year, notably winning the State’s two biggest races, the Golden Easter Egg and the Million Dollar Chase, both with star bitch She’s A Pearl.
But at Dapto it was another bitch getting the job done, and it was a superb job too, claiming the $75,000 first prize.
The standout performance in last week’s heats when she was knocked over early and last down the back, before rattling home to snatch her spot in the final, it was not surprising that Good Odds Emma was the popular pick with punters.
And thankfully for her supporters, there were no such dramatics from Good Odds Emma in the final. She jumped well and challenged the leader Yuko Girl from the first turn.
The pair matched each other all the way to the home turn where Good Odds Emma finally got the better of the leader and raced away to win by 1½ lengths from the fast-finishing Lochinvar Lona, with a gallant Yuko Girl a ¼length away in third. The winner clocked a handy 29.75s.
But after being purChased from Hurst, the owners, who also own She’s A Pearl, sent the bitch to the Lords and since then she has had five runs all at Dapto, winning for the new owners for the first time in the Megastar final.
“She was probably boxed to win the race and it played out like that,” Lord’s kennel representative Paul Mills said.
Asked how she has improved since the Lords took over, Mills said: “She's probably just settling and getting to know her and working her out.
“She's been a quality bitch. She's been a quality bitch for Frank (Hurst) and that was probably why they (the new owners) jumped on her to buy her, so it’s good to see the owners get the rewards. Putting their money where their mouths are.”
Good Odds Emma continued a run of the two box in the Megastar final, with Ritza Donna winning last year’s final when wearing the checks, and the brilliant Flying Ricciardo doing the same in 2020 from box 2.
The win is JODIE Lord’s second in the Megastar having won the race back in 2016 with Let It Develop, and puts a nice exclamation mark on the year.
