Club Races
Elliott Returns to Form
Stawell Racecourse Handicap
Sunday 21st February 2010

	Daryl Elliott

After a quiet finish to last year, Daryl Elliott signalled a return to form last Sunday, taking out the Grampians Vets difficult 55 kilometre Stawell Racecourse Handicap.

Riding off 3 minutes, Elliott combined with Gerard O’Brien, Tony Lloyd, Dean Hayward, and visiting Warrnambool rider Peter Murphy, to attack the course from the start.

The limit riders Meg Parnaby, Les Power, Frank Stokes and Crystal Wemyss rode strongly, taking full advantage of the calm conditions, but their 8 minute start over the 3 minute riders was still cut in half at the Pomonal turn, less than half way around the course.

However, they managed to keep the chasing riders at bay until about 6 kilometres from home, when the 3 minute riders swept past, picking up Wemyss in the process.

Still some distance behind, the scratch riders Frank Kean, Drew Heard, Chris Scott and Danny Monaghan were working hard, but struggling to make up ground on the powerful 3 minute bunch.

In the final dash to the line, Elliott showed his superior sprinting form, surging to the lead to take out the race from Peter Murphy, with Dean Hayward third. The scratch riders made up ground over the final hills and finished soon afterwards, lead by Frank Kean, who clocked the fastest time of the day of 1 hour and 26 minutes.