March 11, 2016
Nanango trainer Glenn Richardson experienced a tense but satisfying finish at Chinchilla last Saturday.
His charges Lucks In ($7) and Canid ($6), the first and third placegetters in the Warrego Water Services BM 50 Handicap (1400 m), were covered by just three parts of a length.
With Hannah English concentrating on the Tooowoomba fixture, Victorian lass Samantha Noble handled the winner while Nathan Evans was aboard Canid.
Both horses could be termed special cases.
Lucks In delivered the goods when he was specifically bought to have a crack at the Jim Lenihan Memorial at Kumbia on Melbourne Cup day.
The former member of Pat Sexton’s Oakey team is raced by a syndicate that includes Jim’s brother Brian, Richardson and his mother Glenda, Wayne Hancock (a working mate of Jim’s) and English’s grandmother Noelle Bartlett.
Canid is an important booking for Hannah in the Des Moore Memorial (BM 45, 1200m) at Esk on Saturday.
In April 2012, she joined Glenn, Marc Alexander and Gary McAuliffe when the group of Nanango friends shelled out a mere $400 for the unraced Elusive City gelding that has since returned its cost price 100 times over.
English had to relinquish her interest when she became Richardson’s licensed apprentice.
It was a marvellous thrill for her when she saluted on her bay mate at Tara in October last year.
After this single task at Esk, Hannah heads to Toowoomba for seven rides including Hidden Angel for Richardson in the last.
Also at Esk, Hannah Phillips rides Lisa Fashionista and Alemana for her father Barry and Aiming Aim for the Weidemann. Then she’ll journey to Clifford Park for four more engagements.
Likewise Tiffani Brooker, after her Esk work, goes to the Downs where her partners include the James Curtain trained The Equine Bolt.
* * *
(Photo: Ross Stanley)
The Colt Just Acted Naturally
Alma Yulanda’s recent victory at Cranbourne was unusually newsworthy. So too was her link to the fifth placed stablemate Gay Skier.
The now four year old mares gave birth to their respective foals Catchmeacab on September 21, 2013 and A Winter’s Dream a day later.
The ominously named Midnight Jumper was initially thought to be the culprit for the unplanned pregnancies.
But it turned out the youthfully exuberant Racer’s Edge colt Vee Eight Sixty (born 2010) was the guy that created an under-the-fence and under-the-radar access to the girls quarters.
The matings happened when the fillies were away from their trainer Andrew Sawden’s Victorian establishment.
Their horse-breaker noticed they were seemingly and unexpectedly putting on weight.
Vee Eight Sixty, a son of Why Won’t She Work, has paid a penalty – he is now a gelding, but has scored twice at Queanbeyan.
The juveniles Catchmeacab, who lodges with his mother at Sawden’s, and A Winter’s Dream are yet to race.
Stallions have successfully returned to the track after stud work.
Daybreak Lover and Innisfree are Stradbroke winning examples.
Pregnant mares have also continued racing for a period.
The breeding novelty outlined above is not likely to catch on.
It will be interesting to see what heights the mares and their foals do scale.
