WAGGA mare Asgarda stormed into Country Championships contention with a dominant first-up victory at Murrumbidgee Turf Club on Thursday.
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Asgarda ($2.00) broke the track record for the 1300 metre trip at Wagga in an impressive return from a spell in the $29,000 Country Championships Preview Class Four Handicap.
Given every chance by jockey Kayla Nisbet, Asgarda showed her customary turn of foot to put her rivals away quickly in a time of 1:15.31 for the 1300m.
The four-year-old mare won by a length and a quarter from fast-finishing Tumut mare Laurel Hill ($5.50) and both will now push on to next week's $150,000 SDRA Country Championships Qualifier (1400m) at Albury.
Wagga trainer Doug Gorrel was blown away by Asgarda's big return.
"It was better than what we planned," Gorrel said.
"That was lovely. She won so well. She just blew them away so that was lovely.
"That was better than I hoped for. I was confident but she's won it with authority there."
Nisbet will stick for Sunday week's feature at Albury.
Asgarda will head into the race with a record of four wins and two seconds from nine starts.
She is raced by Lance Gilbert, Paul Rogerson, Gorrel, Kooringal Stud and the Prospecting syndicate.
Gorrel says Asgarda's return means they can head into the $150,000 qualifier full of hope.
"Absolutely. We've just got to keep her in cotton wool because she's difficult," he said.
"But that's probably what separates the good ones from the bad ones. She's always keen, she's always got her head over the box in her stall listening to the gallops.
"She knew it was race day today, she wanted to get out there."
Meantime, Rocket Tiger ($2.90) produced a first-up fourth in his return earlier in the day.
Demanding Mo ($2.60) sat up on the speed and proved too tough to win the Rodney Parsons OAM Benchmark 82 Handicap (1400m).
Rocket Tiger, lugging 64 kilograms, loomed and stuck on well to finish just over a length behind Demanding Mo as he heads towards Sunday week's Country Championships heat.
It was a well-deserved win for Demanding Mo, who had ran gallant seconds at his past two starts at Wagga and Kembla Grange.
It was his first win since January 2022, and his first after four starts for Canberra trainer Keith Dryden.
Dream Inherit ($7.00) got out late and flashed into second spot, just ahead of Sizzling Cat ($4.20)
