July 1, 2016
Non-claiming apprentice Jimmy Orman was a little more than two lengths off initial Group One glory at Eagle Farm last Saturday.
The highly talented lad, whose list of winners began with Shadowy Pat at Nanango in May 2013, gave long shot Sultry Feeling every chance in the $500,000 Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m).
His effort drew a beaming smile and a pat on the back from trainer James Cummings.
The clearly joyful Sydney conditioner said that Jimmy’s “riding very well and we’re thinking long term and happy to give him a chance.
“Saturday won’t be the last time we use him.
“He hasn’t ridden a Group One winner yet but you don’t ride as many winners as he has this season if you’re not good at what you do.”
Orman, who will bolt in with the 2015-16 state-wide premiership, is in a close battle for the all important metropolitan honours with Jim Byrne and Jeff Lloyd.
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Luke Dittman, another rider who cut his teeth in the south-east country areas, collected his first city Group Three scalp by booting home Into The Red in the W.J.Healy Stakes.
The Gold Coast based hoop landed the Ken Russell Memorial (Gr 3) on his home turf earlier this year.
That was a fitting occasion, considering Luke’s father Mick was a contemporary of Russell.
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Meanwhile, Brooke Ainsworth and Billie-Rose Derbyshire have both opened their city accounts with their recent Doomben victories.
Both had extensive experience on rural tracks before stepping up to provincial grade.
The attrition rate for apprentices is governed by numerous factors.
Travel in the early stages is very demanding.
Weight, opportunity and ability also come into play.
So it is quite an achievement to at least enter the metropolitan sphere.
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New Board Heads To The Starting Gates
Having been an horrendously long time in training, the unraced Racing Queensland Board is moving from the parade ring to the barrier stalls.
The going it will face is presently rated as heavy but fingers are crossed that it will go through a number of upgrades.
A satisfying sign is that the members that are termed as being independent (of any of the three codes) do have earlier links with some aspect of the industry.
Furthermore there seems to be useful diversity in the history of those charged with the unenviable tasks of advancing the sport and also pleasing everyone.
Quite a range of models for racing administration have been tried since the demise of the Principal Club system.
That was a very localised set-up that suited its era, but Australian racing is now largely handled by state-wide bodies.
The best of structures will fail if the personnel are not up to the challenge.
Back in the 1980s,there was a caption near a large clock at The Curragh racetrack near Dublin – hopefully, it is still there.
It simply stated that “Time discloses all”.
It will be more than fascinating, over the years, to track the performance of this fresh “horse-flesh”.
It does have to hump a heavy weight from the outset.
- Related article: Racing Board Members Unveiled
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Coming Up
- The 108 nominations for Esk’s program on Saturday has produced capacity fields and 16 emergencies for the six race card. Although there are meetings looming at Ipswich (Friday), Warra, Gold Coast and Caloundra (Saturday) and Toowoomba (Sunday), South Burnett stables are having a rest period. The exceptions are Kaylene Hamilton and Tom Moloney. They will be represented at the Brisbane Valley course by Monte Lago and Yamanners respectively. Incidentally, 18 horses that missed out when Warwick washed out have accepted for Esk.
- The cutback in purses for the Saturday city cards effectively kicks off on July 9. The previous standard fare of eight $65,000 events comes down to seven at $60,000 and one at $40,000 for Class 3 Plates. The outcome is a creative way of minimising the money drop for the bulk of the program. A by-product is the opportunity for the weaker classes to get a crack at much higher stakes. Sydney and Melbourne have been running an extra cut-price contest each Saturday for some time. Of course, their 2015-16 minimums of $85,000 and $80,000 had already left Queensland in the shade.
