Triple Tee gave Mark Minervini a perfect start to the 2011/12 racing season with a narrow but impressive win in the P D Excavations Class 1 Handicap over 1100 metres.
Triple Tee, a 4-year-old gelding by Tayasu Tsuyoshi put in a gutsy effort to score a 0.05 length victory over Folau, which came as a shock to gun race caller Terry McAuliffe who emphatically declared Folau the winner. Thankfully for favourite backers and Minervini supporters, Terry made an uncharacteristic error of judgement.
Expertly guided by leading southpaw rider Matthew Nielson, Triple Tee dug deep to grab Folau on the line with Bar Room Belle a further 1.5 lengths away in third. Mark Minervini was very pleased with the geldings effort particularly considering he had to carry 58kg’s on a slow track after a 5-day back up. The win continued Mark Minervini’s exceptional record at Gawler, a track at which he enjoyed considerable success during the 2010 / 11 racing season.