Goulburn, Tamworth previews: Trainer Greg Hickman chasing a brace of winners to kick start a potentially big month

Trainer Greg Hickman is hoping Tiger Town can do what Braces did at Grafton almost a decade ago but has his more immediate attention focused on Goulburn on Friday.

Greg Hickman has two good chances at Goulburn on Friday

Greg Hickman is eyeing off his second Grafton Guineas winner this July but aims to start the month with a ‘brace’ of his own at Goulburn.

A participating trainer in Yes Yes Yes’ record breaking 2019 The Everest, the stakes are a good deal lower for Hickman this week but wins to his southbound duo Unwritten and Annoint, no less welcome.

Whereas Unwritten has a tally of four wins, the lightly-raced stablemate Annoint is zeroing in on his first victory with designs on the Goulburn Australia Maiden Plate (1600m).

A three-year-old gelding by The Autumn Sun, Annoint turned in a personal best last start when going down narrowly, and bravely, in a 1400m Super Maiden at Newcastle.

“I sort of got a bit shocked with his last run,” Hickman said. “He was four weeks between runs, I probably expected him to knock up a little bit and he didn’t do that.

Jockey @keaganlatham takes Cook Island Girl back to the inside and she lets down powerfully late to win Race 7 at @newcastleraces_ for @MFreedmanRacing 👊 pic.twitter.com/r5G3IjM3JF

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 22, 2024

“It was a great ride by Christian Reith and I think there will be a bit of form come out of the race because the horse who beat us (Cook Island Girl) is half handy.

“I am happy enough with what he has done and gone on to do.

“The only negative thing about it is that he is one-paced and that’s what I learnt out of the last start.

“Hopefully as we move forward, you get to those tight tracks like Canterbury and Wyong that will suit him.

“He has just to toughen up to be able to roll forward in the better standard of races.”

Annoint is a blueblood of sizeable proportions and a rarity too.

His dam, Bishop’s Pond is one of only four daughters of the great American racehorse and stallion Curlin in Australia.

Bishop’s Pond won six races in the USA from 1600m to 2200m including Listed races at Laurel and Delaware Park.

Joining Annoint on the float from Warwick Farm to Goulburn is the Aquis-bred Unwritten who will lead the field out onto the track in the Elite Haulage Benchmark 66 Handicap over 1200m.

This mission will be Unwritten’s 34th start, 1,371 days after his honourable debut in the time-honoured ATC Breeders’ Plate (1000m) at Royal Randwick.

Unwritten jumps out of the ground and launches home to win at double figures, giving Danny Beasley an early double. pic.twitter.com/gboNM5dShB

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 5, 2023

“I thought he was going to be a lot better horse than he actually is but that’s not going to happen,” said Hickman.

“But he has been consistent and he was running good races in town in Benchmark 72’s and we’ll get back to that shortly.

“All I know is the horse is going as well as he normally has.

“He has a bit of weight but he has a good jockey and a good barrier and he’s done well.”

Hickman, meanwhile, is likely to head north not south on his next trip away given his plans for Tiger Town whose four career wins have come at Taree, Orange, Wellington and Warwick Farm.

The son of imported Sir Rupert Clark winner Jungle Cat was to have campaigned at Kembla’s washed-out meeting on Thursday but is likely to resurface at home next week now instead.

“We might let him go around at Warwick Farm,” Hickman said. “There is a 1600m Benchmark 64 there on Wednesday.

“His last run was a ripper and that was in town on a Saturday.

“I won the Grafton Guineas with Braces and I think he is as good a horse as him.”

Not only did Braces win the Guineas, his time of 1:34.1 seconds still stands as the Grafton 1600m course record nine years after it was set.

PRINCE READY TO BE CROWNED A WINNER

Tamworth trainer Craig Clegg could soon be saddling up his first TAB Highway runner should his lightly-raced gelding Blazed Prince continue on his upwards trajectory.

The Philip Lyne-bred and raced four-year-old went within inches of shedding his maiden status when he resumed at home on June 21.

“It was a bob of the head but anyhow that’s racing,” Clegg said.

“He has taken a while to mature but his last run at Tamworth was very encouraging.

“He is a very green horse and he is a bit hard to handle but he is starting to put it all together.

“He is a big gangly bloke with a big long-stride and he is starting to learn to balance-up and putting his legs where they should be.”

Blazed Prince has raced at home twice in his three starts, the furthest he has been from Tamworth is Inverell when he made his Cup Day debut on New Year’s Day.

Super Sioux holds on to win in a tight photo finish in Race 3 at Tamworth. pic.twitter.com/JWZfr5tIPO

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 21, 2024

It may not be all that long before he is 400km away in Sydney for a Highway.

“He is the sort of horse who could progress to that I think,” says Clegg.

“He is good-winded, he will run further than 1200m, he has just got to be a bit more mature in the brain and just learn to properly gallop which he hasn’t done yet.”

Clegg, who trained a winner at Gunnedah on Monday, has Rembroy lining up in the Tamworth City Toyota Maiden Plate (1000m).

“He’s just an honest little fella but he will probably need the run,” Clegg said.

“He’s a little nice doing bloke, he needs a couple of runs to trim him up and he’ll get out to a trip a bit further out because he is by Husson and they will run six or seven furlongs easy enough.

“I think he can take advantage of barrier four. Chelsea (Hillier) will be able to get him into a nice handy possie from there.”

Chelsea Hillier, who will be at Royal Randwick (again) on Saturday riding her beloved Elson Boy, booted home Clegg’s Gunnedah winner, The Affirmative, at the start of the week.

“Things are going alright,” Clegg said.

“I had a couple of placegetters at Tamworth a couple of meetings ago.

“I only have about eight horses in work; there is room for more.”

Blazing Prince and Rembroy will take home a combined $35,000 for Camp Clegg should they both be successful this week.

“You have got to say something for Racing NSW putting up $50,000 for Maiden races, it’s phenomenal,” Clegg said.

Originally published as Goulburn, Tamworth previews: Trainer Greg Hickman chasing a brace of winners to kick start a potentially big month