FOR the second successive year premier conditioner Chris Waller prepared the winner from his Gold Coast stable, of the $150,000 Carlton Draught Port Macquarie Cup when import Exoteric saluted at the coastal venue last Friday.
Popular jockey Tommy Berry pumped his fist in jubilation at the post causing excitement among the large crowd to get the favourite Exoteric (a GB bred son of Danehill sire Champs Elysees) home.
“It was a good race for him today. It’s worth more than a city win at Rosehill,” said Waller’s assistant racing manager Damien Fidden.
Port Macquarie officials, president Greg Delaforce and its chief executive Michael Bowman, joined the locals cheering for their part-owned Shellscrape mare Shelley Beach Road.
Trained by Matthew McCudden, Shelley Beach Road won her fifth race last Friday, while another locally trained mare Je Suis Tycoon (by Written Tycoon) won the following race for Neil Godbolt.
Port Macquarie born, and a former leading State’s country apprentice Andrew Adkins returned home to the cheering crowd when he won two races aboard Shelley Beach Road and the Mack Griffith, Mudgee, trained Schedule.
Country focus in City
COUNTRY racing has received a further boost to owners and trainers with Racing NSW introducing a 10th race – a new $100,000 Class Three Highway event over 1400 metres, to its heralded TAB Everest day at Randwick this Saturday.
This new race supports the inaugural $1.3 million The Kosciuszko also for country trained gallopers.
The program highlight is the $13m TAB The Everest, touted to be the world’s richest turf race, with total prizemoney of over $16.4m.
Five from five
JOSH Oliver, a 22-year-old hoop who has been riding successfully in country Queensland and NSW in recent seasons, recorded a most memorable day recently.
The jockey had five rides at the once-a-year Bundarra races (located just north-west of Armidale), winning them all including the $8000 feature Bundarra Cup aboard Victory Lass, a Nicconi mare who is trained by Todd Payne near Inverell.
Invincible two-year-olds
TWO-year-old events of the season are off and racing with Australia’s hottest sire I Am Invincible jumping to an almost perfect start with a first and second in the recent Gimcrack Stakes-G3 (for fillies) and Breeders’ Plate-G3 (colts and geldings) respectively at Randwick.
Flying I Am Invincible filly Catch Me looked a cut above the rest when winning the Gimcrack.
The Gerald Ryan I Am Invincible colt Covert Ops got “nutted” on the line to finish second in the Breeders’ Plate-G3, which was won by Not A Single Double colt Dubious.
Caulfield trained, Dubious became the first Melbourne trained youngster to take the Breeders’ Plate. The colt was a $350,000 graduate from the Kitchwin Hills draft at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Third in that event was winner Krameric, a bay colt by Coolmore Stud’s first season Encosta de Lago sire Rubick.
It’s worth more than a city win at Rosehill
- Damien Fidden
While Rothsay colt Guntantes won Brisbane’s first juvenile race at Doomben last Saturday, second was The Odyssey, a colt by first crop sire Better Than Ready, a four times Brisbane stakes winning son of More Than Ready.
Also represented with three trial winners last month, Better Than Ready stands at Kruger family’s Lyndhurst Stud at Warwick.
Another first crop two-year-old sire in Queensland Whittington, which stands at Grandview Stud at Peak Crossing, had a third placegetter in the fillies division Push Button, also at Doomben.
By Tale Of The Cat, Whittington won the ATC Breeders Plate-LR in 2012.
The recent loss of young sire Hinchinbrook was also highlighted when his juvenile son Unite And Conquer won the VRC Maribyrnong Trial Stakes-LR at Flemington last Saturday.