In-form apprentice Katelyn Mallyon has taken the lead in the Rising Stars Series in Victoria at the half-way mark.
Mallyon won the latest heat at Echuca aboard the Peter Morgan and Craig Widdison-trained Cognac Girl, taking her points tally in the series to 30, two ahead of Josh Cartwright who was runner-up in Monday's event.
The Rising Stars Series comprises 24 races restricted to apprentices around Victoria.
Points are allocated to the top five placegetters in each race with the winning apprentice earning 12 points and the runner-up six.
Mallyon, who recently joined the stable of Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra, has also launched a challenge for the Melbourne apprentices' premiership with eight city wins in the past month.
Her win on Whistle Baby at Flemington on Saturday took Mallyon's metropolitan tally for the season to 13, only one behind joint leaders Patrick Moloney and defending titleholder Chad Schofield.
Mallyon became the first female to win the Melbourne apprentices title in 2011/12.