Ellis
Eases (or Wheezes) to a Win
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| Patrick
Ellis |
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Horsham's Patrick Ellis overcame
a bout of self doubt brought on by a severe dose
of the flu when he charged to a pugnacious win in
the eight kilometres Howdens of Stawell Handicap,
raced in the Ironbarks near Stawell last Saturday.
“I shouldn’t
have run,” Patrick wheezed after the event. “I
felt really crook jogging to the start and that’s
when I should have had the good sense to pull out.
But once I got going, my lungs seemed to clear,so
it wasn't so bad.”
Patrick's
endeavours might have been aided by Steve “Squeak” Baird,
who, as usual, began like a pocket rocket from his
16 minute handicap, dragging Ellis,
who ran from the same mark, along with him.
After finishing
second in the opening two events of the Stawell Amateur
Athletic Club season, Patrick was a warm favourite
to win the race…but was very nearly upstaged
by a 100-1 outsider. In a dramatic form reversal,
Sven O’Flynn stunned onlookers when he still
led the field rising to the top of the last hill,
but it was then, with about 400 metres to travel,
that Ellis swept past and surged clear
to win by eleven seconds, with young Sarah Barham
surprising more seasoned runners to finish third.
O’Flynn,
described by club pundits as a “moody” runner, “bucking
his brands off one day and digging his toes in the
next,” sandwiched his great run between lasts
at Stawell the previous week and and at Ararat the
next day.
“I
just didn’t want to run last again,” Sven
said.
Nhill athlete Peter Cutler,
already a winner this season, recorded the
fastest time of 30 minutes and 20 seconds from his
tough backmarkers position to just sneak into the
top ten
Tobias Blair handsomely won
the four kilometre junior division of the race from
featherweight Pomonal runner, Raine Mackley, who
continues to impress with his determination.
By Keith Lofthouse
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