Tarzan the ace in pack for Stuart Kendrick’s summer squad

Stuart Kendrick’s gentle giant Tarzan has become a favourite of punters and the gelding will be in the spotlight again when he chases his 16th win to kick-off the Queensland Summer Carnival at his home track.

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He’s the gentle giant who has become a favourite of punters for his will to win, running flat out from the get-go, most of the time asked by the handicapper to carry considerably more than his rivals.

The aptly-named Tarzan shoots for career win No.16 – and 10th on his home track – when he runs in the Swiss Ace Plate at Caloundra on Saturday.

The meeting, which also has the inaugural running of the Mooloolaba Cup, doubles as the official start to the Queensland summer racing carnival, which culminates with $10m Magic Millions raceday at the Gold Coast on January 11.

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Tarzan will be chasing his 16th win on Saturday at Caloundra. Picture: AAP

Tipping the scales at more than 600kg, Tarzan has played an important role in building the profile of his trainer Stuart Kendrick in recent years and at the age of seven, he’s arguably in career-best form.

He shoots for a fifth straight win on Saturday, taking on familiar sparring partners Meet Mr Taylor, Fiery Heights, Tycoon Ace and Boomwaa, but this time in a race where the weights suit him for a change and not his rivals.

“I bought him as a yearling and he was one of the first yearlings I bought when I first came to south-east Queensland,” Kendrick said.

“I paid just $18,000 for him, (BRC chairman) Neville Bell bred him and bought back into him. He won his first start and has been a great horse for the stable the whole way through.

“I think there’s two things about him that make him so popular — the first is he has a pretty catchy name and the second is his pattern of racing.

“He runs to the front, is tough and really fights it out.

“He mostly gives the punters a good run for their money.”

Tarzan’s fighting qualities on the track have helped boost the profile of trainer Stuart Kendrick.

Though he has recent wins at Doomben and Eagle Farm on the scorecard, Tarzan is most effective on his home track at Corbould Park, where he has won or run second in 13 of his 15 starts.

Kendrick said the bigger track, where he can get into a rhythm and doesn’t have any sharp turns, suits him. Tarzan had a throat operation early in his career and also overcame a crushed wither after slipping over in a spelling paddock as a young horse.

“He’s a great horse to have around,” Kendrick said. “He’s about 16.2 hands (high) and is quite a big, lanky, lengthy type of horse. He almost looks like a stayer.

“In a race, he’s fairly one-dimensional. He has to go forward. If you try and hold him up, he doesn’t get anywhere near his best. He loves running in front and if horses want to take him on, they need to be pretty tough to go with him.”

The Candy Man can bounce back

Barry Baldwin anticipates his two granddaughters will have something to cheer about when The Candy Man returns to Queensland racing in Saturday’s Mooloolaba Cup.

When asked if the popular grey can turn his Sydney form around and win Saturday’s feature at the Sunshine Coast, Baldwin’s response was short and to the point: “Yes.”

Baldwin’s five-year-old granddaughter Paloma was at his Eagle Farm stable on Wednesday, wishing The Candy Man the best of luck for his bid to win on Saturday.

The trainer’s other grandchild, 11-year-old Lavinnia, is a budding tennis star and was at practice on Wednesday, but she too has a fondness for the stable favourite.

“They come to the stable every chance they get and yes, The Candy Man is their favourite horse. He’s everyone’s favourite,” Baldwin said.

The Candy Man (left) will aim to bounce back to winning form in the Mooloolaba Cup at Sunshine Coast. Picture: AAP

The trainer could find excuses for each of The Candy Man’s four defeats in NSW this time in. He said The Candy Man wasn’t fit enough at Newcastle, covered more ground than any other horse in the Epsom, was very forgivable on a hard track in the Craven Plate and then ran well from a bad gate last start in the Rosehill Cup.

“He was wide early and had to go forward,” he said. “He’s better ridden back in the field, but we had to go forward to get in. I know he was beaten four lengths but I thought from a decent barrier, he might have run into a place.

“We’ve come back, he was a bit jaded the first few days, but he’s back to his old self now and he has a good blood count. He’s won at the Coast before and I’m sure he’s ready to run very well.”