November 22, 2014
by Ross Stanley
Glenthorn Avenue, the ultra-consistent Bel Esprit gelding owned and trained by Hivesville’s Lindsay Anderson, deservedly collected last Saturday’s Mt Perry Cup (1400m).
Apart from his Queensland debut at Wondai on Anzac Day, each of the bay’s 14 outings since leaving Victoria have earnt a cheque.
“I was worried that the horse may have problems when the amount I offered was accepted. But he is very sound. He’s a good type but very hard-headed. He has been keen to lead but at the end he was ‘waiting for his mates’. We have taken the blinkers off and now get him to sit back so his finishing run can be perfectly timed,” said Anderson, a cattleman whose core business is the buying and selling operation L.T and J.M Marketing.
Anderson is back after a seven year break from training.
Getting a new licence was a slower process than the ace campdrafter bargained for, so Peter Blackwell put the polish on the ex-Victorian for his first three northern appearances.
With Hannah Phillips in the saddle, Glenthorn Avenue scored over the metric mile at Burrandowan and Nanango in May.
The sprinter-miler’s dam Tolago is by Encosta De Lago and that means there are three references to the legendary Northern Dancer on his pedigree page.
Five runs for Anderson in July-August saw the now six-year-old chalk up a win and a placing at Gympie and placings at Wondai, Rockhampton and Nanango.
His four starts this time in have produced a fourth at Wondai, placings at Dalby and Chinchilla and last weekend’s welcome return to the top spot.
Although there was only a quartet of contenders at Mt Perry, there was a tough nut to crack in the shape of the eventual runner-up Testascana, the Testa Rossa eight-year-old from Bevan Johnson’s Longreach yard.
The black-type winning gelding’s most recent campaigning has been in the west and north-west of the state, but earlier victories at Flemington, Caulfield, Sandown and Moonee Valley contributed to bank account deposits totalling $372,000.
Before his form tapered off in 2012, the mix included a second placing to Fawkner in the VRC Sofitel Stakes and an unplaced effort as a 10/1 shot in the Group One Rupert Clarke Stakes.
Regular rider Jason Missen let the leaders run along in the Cup and Glenthorn Avenue was four to five lengths astern at one point.However the Wondai hoop’s precision was telling in the final stages and the duo prevailed narrowly.
Lindsay, whose father Colin and grandfather Billy were successful trainers, has experienced the ultimate joy of taking out a city event with Red Chip in 2003 while another major thrill came when Madley Miss was awarded the Wondai Horse of the Year title.
Anderson plans to take on provincial company with Glenthorn Avenue and Prime Hope at the Sunshine Coast on Friday 28 November.
Meanwhile there is a passing interest for South Burnett racing followers in the $55,000 Roma Cup line up on Saturday.
Although Aashiq is trained in Toowoomba by Jason Judge, this ex Victorian has thrived in rural Queensland.
It is a tough contest, but it would not be a shock if the Wondai-Kumbia Cup winner performs creditably.
The fact that the chestnut is a proven trier with four first placings from his last six essays is worth a couple of ticks.
The downside is that he has drawn 12 of 12.
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School’s Out
Apparently 47,000 Queensland students have just completed their secondary education, and it’s a safe bet that most will be chilling out this weekend.
But not one Ipswich lad who is very well known around the South Burnett and other parts of the state.
Michael McInally, the young, enthusiastic racing photographer, will be pressing the shutter button at Roma on Saturday just as he has done in recent months at Warwick, Gympie, Gayndah, Kilcoy, Surat, Stanthorpe, Nanango, Goondiwindi and – for something completely different – Flemington during the Derby-Cup carnival.
Michael, his father Paul and brother David are the present mainstays of Three Way Photos, the business that has been covering race meetings in Queensland and northern New South Wales for decades.
Paul’s father Nev and Paul’s late brother Anthony have also been cameramen around the countryside.
Promising Melbourne apprentice Regan Bayliss was a schoolmate of Michael’s at St Edmund’s, while David is keener to emulate the exploits of the Australian cricketer Shane Watson, another past student of the Ipswich college.
The McInnallys are seasoned travellers and industry journeymen.
They have responded to the contemporary technical opportunities by using varieties of camera equipment in a range of positions.
If you love racing images, check out Michael’s Birdsville snap on his home page at michaelmcinallyphotography.com.
See if you can spot a blade of grass!
