TOUGH New Zealand jumper Zed Em scored back-to-back victories in the $100,000 Von Doussa Steeplechase for his trainer Patrick Payne at Oakbank on Sunday.
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Zed Em, ridden by champion jumps jockey Steven Pateman, defeated Now And Zen and the Warrnambool-trained Dormello Mo in the first jumps feature for 2018.
The three length win gave Payne his third win in the 3250 metre race and Pateman his fourth.
Dormello Mo’s trainer Simon Ryan was happy with the performance of the French bred jumper, despite a couple of sticky jumps.
“My bloke jumped a couple of the 16 fences ordinary,” Ryan said.
“You can’t put in sticky jumps when your running against a horse like Zed Em. We put in a terrible jump at the first.
“I reckon we put in four bad jumps while Zed Em jumped brilliantly but in saying that my bloke ran well.
“I think if we jumped a bit better we might have run a close second.
“It was Dormello Mo’s second run back from a long spell so there’s improvement in him.”
Ryan said Dormello Mo will be set for the Brierly Steeplechase on the opening day of the Warrnambool May Racing Carnival.
Veteran jumps trainer Eric Musgrove won the $45,000 hurdle race at Oakbank, in South Australia, with his evergreen jumper About The Journey.