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By Greg Prichard

Local trainer Wayne Wilkes and his apprentice jockey daughter Shae Wilkes combined for a winning double at Taree races on Sunday and Shae rode another winner for a different trainer on top of that.

It was a red-letter day for the Wilkes family and it began with Shae riding El Beatle ($2.30) to win the opening race, the Stacks Law Firm Country Boosted Maiden Handicap over 1000m, for Cessnock trainer Jeremy Sylvester.

In-form apprentice rider Shae Wilkes. Image by Bradley Photographers

Then Wayne and Shae combined with Razella ($5.50) to win race three, the De Bortoli Wines F&M Maiden Plate over 1300m, and Otium ($6) to score in race six, the Tastefest On The Manning Benchmark 58 Handicap over 1400m. Shae also came up with two seconds on the day - Bellascent ($11) and Edge Of Midnight ($2.80 favourite).

Wayne and Shae have teamed up for plenty of wins in her career so far, but it is obviously very important for her to establish strong working relationships with outside stables as well.

And this season she has become the regular rider of El Beatle, steering the four-year-old gelding at each of his last five starts for a second, a third, two fifths and now finally a win.

“He’s been a very good horse for me,” Shae said after the race. “He’s always shown ability. When I first got on him at Kempsey he only just got beat by (Evergreen Turf Country Championships contender) Bodhi Boy.

“We’ve been waiting for him to put them away like that and today with the blinkers on he did it.”

Wayne was responsible for a tremendous training performance with Razella. The four-year-old mare had not raced since July 13 of last year and was having her first start for the Wilkes stable.

She had not competed in any barrier trials but Wilkes was obviously doing a great job getting her fit enough for a first-up assault with her work on the track and punters were keen on her. She firmed from $7 to start at $5.50.

Razella was fifth in the run and when Shae took her three wide rounding the home turn she responded enthusiastically, mowing down the leaders in the straight and going on to win by almost a length.

“She’s been racing in tougher grade than that and came back into the country grade, so it was the right race for her,” Wayne said. “She’s a terrific-looking mare and a really nice horse and that’s a nice starting point for her with us.”

Wayne had experienced a lean trot for a couple of months since training his last winner for 2024 on November 17, but has bounced back with a winner at Port Macquarie on January 24 and now this Taree double.

View the full results with race replays for Taree here