- Who's in the mix to take on the power?
- Watson a character of his own environment
- Match day information v Port Adelaide
Hayden Ballantyne has secured his first win as a horse trainer with his horse Mankind winning the 1400m Amelia Park Handicap at Belmont Park Racecourse on Wednesday.
The win comes in Ballantyne’s sixth race as a trainer since getting his trainer’s licence.
Ballantyne is one of seven Fremantle players who share in the ownership of Mankind including Aaron Sandilands, Joel Hamling, Brandon Matera, Luke Ryan, Taylin Duman and Brennan Cox.
The race was held on a player’s day off with Hamling, Ryan, Cox and Duman in attendance to help cheer their horse on.
In a post-race interview, Ballantyne told Racing and Wagering WA that he was thrilled with the result.
“There were a lot of high-fives going at the 100-metre mark so we were pretty excited all the way in,” Ballantyne said.
“It’s amazing to have all the boys here supporting and cheering (the horse) on, so it’s a fantastic feeling and I’m rapt to be in the winner’s circle for the first time.
"The heart's still racing. All the boys are pretty excited and it's fantastic to get the result.
"He's had a couple (of runs) where he was caught wide and a couple where he just shied away from nothing really. Now we chucked the blinkers on, made him concentrate a bit better and went to the lead and (jockey) Jade (McNaught) rode a great race.”