Goulburn preview: Comeback apprentice Dale Cole to ride Group 1 winner Shelby Sixtysix in key trial

As Group 1 winner Shelby Sixtysix continues his comeback after having a tumour removed, the jockey who will ride him in a trial is also completing a remarkable recovery of his own.

Shelby Sixtysix will trial at Goulburn on Tuesday. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty Images

Shelby Sixtysix continues a remarkable comeback from illness as his apprentice jockey Dale Cole gets closer to his first race ride after recovering from serious injuries sustained in a trackwork fall when they compete in a barrier trial at Goulburn on Tuesday.

Trainer Danny Williams revealed Group 1 winner Shelby Sixtysix is returning after a tumour was surgically removed from a hoof 10 months ago.

“We were noticing Shelby wouldn’t stride out and was pulling up average after he raced so we had the vets go over him,’’ Williams said.

“They found a tumour in his foot that was causing him discomfort. We had that operated on and he’s coming along really well.’’

Shelby Sixtysix is having his second barrier trial this preparation and Williams has Cole riding his stable star.

Cole is hoping to get his clearance from Racing NSW stewards to ride in races after he partners Shelby Sixtysix in the trial – albeit 14 months later than Williams had first planned.

“I asked Dale to ride an unraced filly, Tjaka, in trackwork one morning when she bucked and he was dislodged from the saddle but got his foot caught in the iron,’’ Williams said.

“Tjaka dragged him along for about 150m. Dale suffered a broken leg, pelvis, fractured ribs and a punctured lung.

“The incident upset me a lot as I was riding alongside Dale but I couldn’t stop it.

“Dale was badly injured, it was terrible, and it didn’t look good there for a while. He had to be airlifted from the (Goulburn) trackwork to Canberra Hospital and it has been a long recovery process for him.’’

Williams revealed he was hoping Cole would get his clearance to ride in time to partner Tjaka when she resumes in the Goulburn Soldiers Club Class 1 Handicap (900m) at Tuesday’s Goulburn meeting.

“We had planned for Dale to ride Tjaka in Tuesday’s race so it would have gone full circle for him,’’ the trainer said.

“It would have been good if Dale could have ridden her but it wasn’t to be and we have Mathew Cahill riding the filly. Dale’s turn will come soon.’’

Trainer Danny Williams. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty Images

Tjaka is a well-bred three-year-old filly by Highland Reel, the Irish champion who won six Group 1 races including the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, US Breeders Cup Turf and Hong Kong International Vase, and ran third behind super mare Winx in the 2015 Cox Plate.

She is resuming at Goulburn after a promising debut preparation that yielded a Canberra maiden win, a close second at Albury before an unplaced Randwick Highway effort last November.

“Tjaka is a filly we have a good opinion of,’’ Williams said.

“But she did surprise us last spring because she had not shown a lot on the track, she’s a very average trackworker.

“We took her to Canberra confident she would run well but not expecting her to win.

“She was very impressive that day, weaving through the field, and her turn of foot was very good.’’

Williams said Tjaka should have won at Albury next start and he thought enough of the filly to test her at Highway level before her spell.

“I’m really happy with how Tjaka is coming up this campaign,’’ the trainer said.

“She has had a jumpout and went to the line with Ticklebelly.

“She has made good improvement from the jumpout and although she isn’t a 900m horse, she should be very competitive.’’

Williams is also sending stable veterans My Blue Jeans (Tab.com.au Handicap) and Sapphires Son (Benchmark 58 Handicap) to the Goulburn races.

“Both horses don’t stretch out on firm going and need a wet track which they will get on Tuesday,’’ Williams said.

“I’m expecting My Blue Jeans and Sapphires Son to run a lot better. They are going a lot better than their form reads on paper, both horses are going well and the wet track will elevate their chances.’’

Adventure to begin for filly

Adventure Seeker, a half-sister to boom two-year-old North England, is poised to make a winning return to racing in the Maiden Plate (1300m) at Goulburn on Tuesday.

Trainer Danielle Seib said three-year-old filly Adventure Seeker has “done everything right” since the filly’s impressive barrier trial win at her home track of Goulburn two weeks ago.

“I thought Adventure Seeker trialled really well,’’ Seib said.

“We have always liked her but typical of the sire (The Autumn Sun) she has needed some extra time.

“She needed those educational runs in her debut preparation where she raced very well but she has come back in good order.’’

Adventure Seeker, who was runner-up on debut at Moruya during her three-start race campaign last spring, won her Goulburn barrier trial by a widening margin of more than two lengths, recording a fast closing 600m sectional of 32.57sec.

It was noticeable that Adventure Seeker did run about a bit early in the straight in the Goulburn trial but once she balanced up, the filly was very strong through the line.

Seib said Adventure Seeker is advantaged, drawing barrier two in the seven-horse field.

Trainer Danielle Seib has two chances in a 1300m Maiden Plate at Goulburn on Tuesday. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

“This looks the right race to kick off her preparation and she should get a nice run from the draw,’’ Seib said.

“We think she should find the front and the rail which will help her a lot as she has that tendency to roll out a little.

“Jean (Van Overmeire, jockey), who rides her on Tuesday, has been impressed by the progression she has made since her first race preparation.’’

Adventure Seeker is by Arrowfield Stud’s outstanding young sire The Autumn Sun out of Our Belisa, the dam of North England, winner of the Golden Gift and one of the early favourites for the Golden Slipper next month.

“Adventure Seeker is a very valuable filly now and it would be nice to get a win or two with her,’’ Seib added.

The Goulburn trainer also has four-year-old mare Innis, a daughter of Kermadec, making her debut against stablemate Adventure Seeker.

“Innis looks like she will need ground but this race is a good starting point for her,’’ Seib said.

After the final race at Goulburn, there will be two barrier trials on the course proper with Seib saddling up Country Championships hopeful Cable Express, and talented trio Bide Your Time, Master Of Disguise and Motorboat in a 800m heat.

“Cable Express has done a little too well since his first-up win at Goulburn,’’ Seib said.

“He has the confidence of a horse that has just won, it is like he hasn’t gone around.

“The Country Championships Qualifier at Nowra is on Sunday week and he needs this trial to take the edge off him.

“Bide Your Time and Master Of Disguise are both really horses and I’m getting them ready for a Rosehill Highway on February 22.

“Motorboat is a half-sister to a stakes horse, Hell I Am, and she has taken time to mature physically and mentally but her trial was good the other day.’’

Originally published as Goulburn preview: Comeback apprentice Dale Cole to ride Group 1 winner Shelby Sixtysix in key trial