DOUBLE DELIGHT: Two Jarred Hetherington-trained pacers race to victory in Tamworth

After the Jarred Hetherington-trained Miss Maravu raced to victory at the Tamworth Paceway on Thursday, October 7, the Narrabri trainer said he hoped that result would see his stable turn a corner following what had been a less than ideal season.

Prior to that win, the most recent had come three-and-a-half months earlier on Thursday, June 24, when Sahara Jewel raced to victory.

Hetherington hoped that the next win would come much sooner, and he only had to wait two weeks after his two fillies charged home to victory at a Tamworth Harness racing Club meeting last Thursday.

Sahara Jewel was a long shot at $31 as she started from the second row from the nine barrier in the third race of the afternoon, which was the 1609-metre Stay Safe – Wash Your Hands Pace (NR up to 49).

The three-year-old was driven by Murray Sullivan to what was her second victory since she joined the Hetherington stable and her third in 22 total starts when she edged out the $3.10 favourite, Pats Pride, which was driven by Anthony Varga for trainer Ian Mabbott, by a head.

Hetherington and Sullivan then combined for a memorable double when the Forbes reinsman drove Miss Maravu to back-to-back victories.

In the sixth race of the day, which was the 1609-metre Jackson Quality Meats Armidale Pace (NR up to 55), Miss Maravu started on the front row from the number three barrier and raced home half a head in front of the Dean Chapple-trained-and-driven $1.75 favourite Asterism.

The two victorious pacers earned $3456 each on what was a memorable day for the Narrabri stable.

“I’d like to take two horses and come home with two winners every week,” he said.

“As we’ve shown over the last few months though it’s not always possible.

“We haven’t been happy with our season and how it was progressing, it’s been one of the worst we’ve had.

“But we are happy with those two wins, they were both perfect drives by Murray.

“Little Sahara Jewel, she’s always going to be competitive in a race like that with a run like that.

“She hasn’t been able to get them lately but she stuck her head out at the right time and got the job done.

“Miss Maravu, she is versatile but she’s not a horse you can just pull off her feet and go bang.

“She only got out at the top of the straight, so it was a different win to the one before where she out-muscled and out-toughed them, this time she had to come with a quick hard sprint and she got there right on the line.

“Like I said after her last win, she’s had a lot of issues and a lot of problems.

“But we believe that she’s starting to turn a corner, stringing two together.

“She will go to the paddock now for three to six months which will hopefully allow her to mentally return.”