{"id":327845,"date":"2022-12-19T17:27:12","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T07:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=327845"},"modified":"2022-12-19T19:13:59","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T09:13:59","slug":"rookies-on-the-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/12\/19\/rookies-on-the-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"Rookies On The Rise"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Evrynow’n’then (Landan Sykes, inside) got the better of Boult (Shania Willis) at Nanango (Photo: John Dalton)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Gunsynd's<\/p>\n

December 19, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

Apprentice Landan Sykes, 18, made quite an impression when he landed a double at Lee Park at the beginning of this month.<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old had Legend Rules travelling sweetly before coming off the rails at the right time to claim the Heritage Bank Burnett To The Beach 0-60 Handicap.<\/p>\n

His polished work on Evrynow\u2019N\u2019Then in the G3 Engineering Nanango QTIS Benchmark was downright thrilling.<\/p>\n

At the top of the lane, catching the clear leader Craiglea Agena seemed to be a mission impossible. However, Sykes spotted space over on the inside and drove up to head off Boult. The first prize still seemed to be beyond reach, but Vic Heading\u2019s charge flew to snatch victory in the shadows of the post.<\/p>\n

Sykes is indentured to John Thomas at Braeside Racing Stables, opposite Toowoomba\u2019s Clifford Park.<\/p>\n

His debut at Warwick on November 11 saw both his mounts fill runner-up berths.<\/p>\n

Landan has partnered eight winners, nine more placegetters and chalked up three doubles from his 40 subsequent rides across nine meetings, ranging from Roma to Mount Perry. On two occasions, it was Thomas who met him at the winner\u2019s slot.<\/p>\n

The other novice to taste success is the former jockey Joshua Morrow.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He is around six foot two in the old money and would obviously been the first selected for a jockeys\u2019 basketball team.<\/p>\n

With weight always the nemesis, Joshua found a great time to break his duck.<\/p>\n

By booting home The Irons in the 2019 Burrandowan Cup, he scored a fine piece of jewellery crafted and presented by Kathy Duff.<\/p>\n

Having saluted just twice from 43 rides in the 2019-20 season, Morrow packed away his raceday kit bag.<\/p>\n

He is now a trainer operator of the Morrow Performance Horses outfit, a breaking-in and pre-training set up at the Bahram Training Centre near Toowoomba at Westbrook.<\/p>\n

His first runner, Beltana, finished third at Miles on February 12. Subsequently, Joshua stepped out 18 more hopefuls at Warwick, Toowoomba, Warra, Roma, Gayndah, Stanthorpe, Caloundra and Ipswich for four more place cheques before breaking through with the in-form Lynric Lass (Emily Lang, $1.90) at Texas on 10 December.<\/p>\n

The significance of the effort lies in the fact that the mare, named for the elderly owner Lynette Sullivan and her late husband Ric, had incurred several stewards embargoes for refusing to load.<\/p>\n

Morrow was initially tasked with remediating the galloper\u2019s barrier behaviour.<\/p>\n

With a reinstatement announced on October 18, Lynette opted to leave Lynric Lass with him. Six days after the Texan outcome, the Top Echelon four-year-old ran a tidy third on Sullivan\u2019s home turf at Rockhampton.<\/p>\n

One of Morrow\u2019s mentors is Steve Tregea, the Downs horseman who is now a household name, courtesy of the feats of Incentivise.<\/p>\n

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Joshua Morrow on his first ever winner, The Irons, at Burrandowan in 2019 (Photo: Ross Stanley)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Bits And Bridles<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n