October 19, 2017
Patrons who are loyal to the locals will have plenty of choice on Saturday – the South Burnett Race Club’s Caulfield Cup meeting has been supported by no less than eight Burnett stables.
For the Generation Funerals Maiden Plate (1100m, 1:35pm), Tom Moloney provides the topweight Danish Diction (Hannah Phillips) and the fit Churchill Downs mare Churchill Dawn.
The lightly raced grand-daughter of Street Cry has sand placings to her credit at Wondai and Gympie.
Peter Blackwell, meanwhile, will saddle up Navillus Dolly, a Strategic mare who debuted with a tidy fifth at Gayndah last Saturday.
Lindsay Anderson’s newcomer Smart Venture is worth checking out – her seven outings to date in New South Wales have been fruitless.
However this company is much weaker, she will have worked around the Wondai circuit and, at two, was beaten less than seven lengths in a Rosehill Maiden on a soft track.
That race winner was Foxplay, the Group One grey that Winx only just nabbed in the Warwick Stakes in August.
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Anderson’s Glenthorn Avenue (Gemma Steele) will have admirers in the Seiler Earthmoving Open Handicap (1100m).
The veteran, with a Wondai record of 10:3-3-2, meets Jeb’s Boy, his recent Gympie nemesis, better at the weights. The Bel Esprit gelding is likely to tackle the Gympie Cup on Cox Plate day.
Fab’s Cowboy, handicapped to lump 64.5 kilograms, hasn’t raced since failing in the $101,000 Townsville Cup in July.
The widely travelled member of Bevan Johnson’s team is very much at home on non-turf tracks.
Although the Glenn Richardson trained Flying Charger has a 00073 form line, the efforts have been better than the statistics suggest.
The Snitzel gelding has yet to run at Wondai.
And while Kristen Wenck’s charge Nug’s Pocket has a weight disadvantage to overcome, the Sequalo chestnut’s five home track assignments have produced five placings.
If eight had accepted for the event, it could have been worth an each way bet.
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The Monica Ryan QTIS BM 55 Handicap (1100m) has proved popular and will be a great contest.
The full field and three emergencies include five district gallopers.
Topping the list is the course specialist I Am McLovin (Alannah Badger). Glenn Richardson now puts the polish on the former James Curtain string member.
The Murtajill bay has registered four victories and a second placing from six tasks at Wondai.
Badger was aboard for the win there in July and the six-year-old is well drawn at gate two.
Liverpool Jane, Lindsay Anderson’s smart lodger that is unbeaten at Wondai, has to concede more weight to I Am McLovin on Saturday than when they filled the exacta at Gympie last month.
Nug’s Pocket is the third reserve while Richardson’s other hopeful, Luck’s In, has been placed twice at Wondai.
On the other hand, the Barry Phillips prepared Chestnut Valley (Hannah Phillips) and six other aspirants are untried on the track.
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In the Summit Financial Services Class B (1465m), Hannah Phillips’ claim could be vital: her mount National Jewel has never been asked to cope with 60 kilograms.
The former Victorian collected four prizemoney cheques before joining Tony Williams at Wondai.
She hasn’t stepped out for two months so it would be wise to check her out in the birdcage.
Neville O’ Toole (Star of Bethlehem) and Kristen Wenck (Ascot Bound) round out a busy day for Burnett yards.
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The parade out for the finale, the Roy and Glenis Radunz Wondai Cup (BM 65, 1465m) will be led by the 2015 Cup hero, Fasta Than Light.
The Pat Duff trained chestnut by Hidden Dragon makes strong appeal again and bookmakers will take no chances.
Of the remaining quintet, Kuramos, with a maiden success, is the only one with a useful experience at the course.
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Timely Tribute To Tulloch
This Saturday marks the 60th anniversary of one of the most powerful displays by a Caulfield Cup winner.
Back in 1957, Tulloch, with Neville Sellwood in the pigskin, devastated his rivals in a contemptuous manner in a world class time for twelve furlongs.
Controversy followed when the colt was withdrawn from the Melbourne Cup because his elderly owner Evelyn Haley was opposed to running springtime three-year-olds over two miles.
Tulloch thrashed Prince Darius, the eventual Cup runner-up, by eight lengths in the Victoria Derby before easily downing Sailor’s Guide in the C.B.Fisher Plate a week later.
Trainer Tommy Smith promptly sent his little star to Queensland and he made short work of the Queensland Derby at 16/1 on.
His spring campaign consisted of eight unblemished appearances that embraced three Derbies, the Rosehill and the Caulfield Guineas and three features for all-ages.
At last, a book has been published about the Australian Hall of Fame inductee.
Former Melbourne journalist Ken Linnett has meticulously researched the bay stallion’s life, and has unearthed some fascinating insights in ‘Tulloch: The extraordinary life and times of a true champion’.
Pleasingly, this Slattery Media Group publication covers the horse’s multiple trips to Brisbane.
The day the son of Khorrasan claimed the 1961 Brisbane Cup (and victory number 36) at his 53rd and final start has a niche spot in this state’s thoroughbred history.
The author and Tulloch’s first strapper Lem Bann will speak at a Queensland launch on November 1.
Enquiries about this free event can be directed to Dymocks Bookshop in Albert Street, Brisbane.
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Bits And Bridles
- Hannah English is riding at the Gold Coast and Toowoomba on Saturday.
- Happy birthday wishes to Nanango racing fan Ethel Ryan. She turns 101 on Wednesday.
