Rapt to win with Ramblenroller
Dream partnership:
Samantha Govers and Ramblenroller, who provided her with her first win at her second drive in a race at last week’s Cobram meeting.
You can’t do much better than drive a winner within an hour of your first drive in a race and that’s what Samantha Govers achieved at last week’s Cobram trots meeting.
Samantha drove the wellsupported Ramblenroller to victory in a C2 Only class race for her trainer-father Stuart.
She had her first drive in a race in the previous event when she partnered the Linton Powertrained Wheresyareallybeen into sixth placing.
There was a bit of pressure on Samantha to get Ramblenroller home as he was backed in on fixed odds from 20-1 to 13-1.
From barrier two Samantha was able to find the back of the pacesetter Flying Circles and this pair singled out in the home straight to fight out the finish with Ramblenroller proving a little too strong.
Samantha, 22, has held a driver’s licence since she was 16, but said her father was not keen for her to drive in races and this with a subsequent broken back and the arrival of her baby it looked as though she might have never got to drive in a race.
But her partner, Matthew Power, and his trainer father Linton Power, encouraged her to follow her dream and dad weakened when he was looking for a concession driver to partner Ramblenroller in the Cobram race.
‘‘Linton has been a great supporter of me and Dad is my harshest, but fairest, and most constructive critic,’’ she said.
‘‘He told me before the race if I didn’t listen to his instructions it would be the last time I would drive for him,’’ Samantha said with a chuckle.
Samantha, who works for NAB, would like to continue her career in the sulky on a hobby basis, but won’t be going out of her way to try and get drives.
‘‘If someone wants me to drive their horse and asks me I will,’’ Samantha said.
Ramblenroller, a veteran of 103 starts and 11 wins, broke a long break from the winner’s circle with his victory.
The eight-year-old son of Blissfull Hall had not won in 31 starts prior to stepping out at Cobram with his previous win achieved at Shepparton on November 24, 2016.
But coming back three classes, a concession claim for Samantha and with an ideal draw Ramblenroller looked to be pitchforked into the race. Punters agreed. Samantha did the rest.
