Reinswoman Jodi Quinlan is prepared to do anything she can to keep the drive of Phoenix Prince after guiding him to victory in the Mildura Pacing Cup on Saturday night.
It was a special night for Quinlan who has a tight bond with the horse after being handed the opportunity by champion trainers Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin.
Quinlan was forced to spend some time away from racing but Stewart and Tonkin kept the faith in the driver, who was happy to repay it on Saturday night.
“Emma and Clayton have been really good to me and this horse is quite special,” Quinlan told TrotsVision.
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“They put me on him one of my very first drives back from injury. They took the risk, I hadn’t driven for 12 months and they gave me a drive in a Cranbourne Cup on him and I was just lucky enough that he won.
“So I’ve been able to get back on him since, had a bit of luck on him and he’s been going great.”
Phoenix Prince beat Our Millionaire by 12 metres with Bulletproof Boy finishing third. It was his second win of the week after taking out his heat.
Mark Pitt was in the sulky for the heat but Quinlan would have made the long distance trip had she needed to. The final was her only drive on Saturday night but the long trip was worth it.
“Clayton rang me when the heats were on and said (Mildura’s) ‘a long way for you to go’. He said ‘Mark (Pitt’s) going to go up, is it all right if he drives (Phoenix Prince)’?,” she added.
“I said, ‘yeah that’s fine, as long as I get to drive him in the final, otherwise I’ll drive the five and a half hours so I don’t lose the drive’. But he said, ‘no, it’s your drive in the final’, so he’s true to his word and that’s why I’m here tonight.”
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