A win at Armidale had evaded Glen Innes native Chelsea Hillier but that changed on Tuesday.
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The two kilogram-claiming apprentice jockey rode Sue Grills' Dumpus to a half-length win over race favourite Jukebox Edition in the 1100 metre Maiden Plate.
It was a long-time coming with the in-form hoop securing her first win way back in September of 2022 before winning half the card at Deepwater in January.
"This is my first, and mum was here so that was great," Hillier said of making the Armidale breakthrough.
Hillier had ridden the four-year-old gelding for four of his previous five starts for a second, third, sixth and fourth before the win.
"He wasn't a favourite but he's been knocking on the door for ages but he just can't draw a gate," Hillier said.
"Today he drew a gate and got the perfect run. It was good. On ya Dumpy."
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Hillier is apprenticed to Scone-based Rod Northam but the Tamworth-based Grills has put plenty of faith in the jockey throughout her career. They combined later in the 1100m Benchmark 58 with Pull The Tail for a second behind Ridge Wilson's Blue Sky Moon and fifth in the 1300m Benchmark 58 with Allande.
The second race of the day, the 1900m Benchmark 58 saw $2.50 favourite in Cody Morgan's Rasay Factor nab the win with Aaron Bullock aboard.
The 1300m Maiden Handicap was won by Mel O'Gorman's Bear's Best, Mikayla Weir the winning hoop.
The Class 1 over 1100m saw another favourite in Cameron Crockett's Scarzel, also ridden by Bullock, win by a length to Jeremy Sylvester's Metal Bar.
Bullock secured his third win of the day on Todd Payten's Kalahari Heart in the 1300m Benchmark 58.
Then Indy Rose Warrior got the job done in race seven, the Class 2 Handicap over 1400m with Ben Looker aboard.
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