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By Greg Prichard

Local trainer Wayne Wilkes and his apprentice jockey daughter Shae combined for one win and each had another win on their own in a great day out for the family at Taree races on Sunday.

And to make it even better for Shae her first win of the day came in the Stacks Law Firm Class 1 Handicap - Heat Of The Rising Star over 1300m.

The Racing NSW Rising Star series provides a tremendous opportunity for the best apprentices in NSW to showcase their talents against each other.

Taree-based trainer Wayne Wilkes

The series is run over 16 meeting at a variety of country, provincial and city tracks and Sunday’s race was just the second event on that schedule.

Points are awarded for each race (seven for first, five for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for all positions from fifth down), with the highest pointscorer overall crowned the series winner. Wyong apprentice Anna Roper won last year’s series.

Courtney Ferris applied Pride Of Jenni-like tactics on the Tony Ball-trained Buffett in the Rising Star heat at Taree, getting out to a lead of 10 lengths mid-race and still leading by a big margin on straightening.

But inside the last 100m Buffett got tired and Wilkes sent Smart Serenade, a $16 chance trained by Nick Mitchell at Gosford, along the inside to hit the lead several strides from home and get the win.

Buffett ($10) held on for second, with $2.80 favourite Selfless Valour, trained by Noel Mayfield-Smith and ridden by Mollie Fitzgerald, finishing third.

Shae Wilkes made it a double when she rode the horse her father trains - Sheila’s Fanta Sea, a $4.20 chance - to win the Harrington Ladies Bowls Super Maiden Handicap over 1250m.

That race carried easily the most prizemoney of any race on the card - $50,000, with $22,000 to the winner.

Then Wayne Wilkes clinched his own double when he produced $2.50 favourite Tanglewood Jimmy, with Andrew Gibbons aboard, to win the Mid Coast Automotive Group Benchmark 58 Handicap over 1600m.

Shae Wilkes said it didn’t bother her that Smart Serenade was a roughie in the betting.

“I thought he was right in that race,” she said after the win. “And then I felt even better about it when Nick gave me a very positive phone call about the horse this morning.

“We just wanted to ride him a bit more positively and then it was a matter of picking up the runaway leader, which he managed to do in the end.

“It’s nice to get a win in the Rising Star series early on and I’ve got to thank my manager, Sam Clenton, for getting me a lot of good rides from other trainers outside of the good rides my dad gives me.

“It’s been terrific for me since Sam became my manager. She’s doing such a great job.”

View the full results with race replays for Taree here