Parnham rides Willas Way to victory

Brad Parnham produced an excellent ride in tough conditions to help Willas Way ($7.50) to victory in the $15,000 Switchboards WA Maiden (1420m) at the Bunbury Turf Club on Sunday.

The Bruce Watkins-trained mare found some speed on the turn to win by a head from Imortalite and finish three lengths ahead of pre-race favourite Pokemon Pete.

Parnham took the four-year-old from two wide at the turn to the front of the pack with about 250m left in the race.

It was Willas Way’s sixth start and she is now two races in from a spell.

Watkins said he was not overly confident of a win heading into the race, but Parnham’s ride had given him hope before the straight.

“I thought Brad would give her every chance,” he said. “I was happy with her going into the race but I was not over confident.

“She is still learning, so hopefully she will (learn) from that.”

Watkins said he expected Willas Way to go over a longer distance in the future because it was sired from former Group 1 winner Blackfriars.

“I think she will get over a bit more ground later on,” he said.

This topped off a great weekend for Parnham, who grabbed two good wins at Ascot just 24 hours before.

Racing returns to the Bunbury Turf Club this Sunday.