Canterbury preview: After a solid debit run, trainer Ron Quinton has Signor Tortoni well placed to land his first victory

Hall of Famers will unite when Ron Quinton and the Tait / Nivison family come together at Canterbury with Signor Tortoni chasing his maiden success.

Trainer Ron Quinton is chasing an early win with Signor Tortoni at Canterbury. Picture: Getty Images

Hall Of Famer Ron Quinton will hand the famous Tait family colours to jockey Louise Day at Canterbury.

Almost 54 years ago at the same venue, then jockey Quinton was handed the same coloured set by Fil Alotta, the trainer of the Tait’s boom two-year-old Baguette who had swept aside his rivals in the spring of 1969 winning the Breeders’ Plate, Silver Slipper and Maribyrnong Plate.

Baguette’s return to racing in 1970 gave an otherwise common Canterbury midweeker a huge audience given the presence of the unbeaten, reigning Golden Slipper favourite.

“Baguette was in a Flying Welter as a two-year-old which is pretty unheard of,” Quinton recalled.

It's a three-way tussle to finish off the second at Randwick but it's Crepe Myrtle who gets up for @JamesCummings88! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/2gX1bLeYGW

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) December 26, 2024

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“I think he carried the equivalent of about seven stone, 12 pounds, which would be about 50 kilos.

“George Moore (Baguette’s regular jockey) didn’t ride at Canterbury in those days because he had a bad fall there once and he barred it.

“Baguette won it (the Flying Walter) easily.”

“There was a very fast filly who ran it, I think Les Bridge trained it for Stan and Millie Fox and Jack Thommo (Thompson) rode it.

“It led me by a least a few lengths coming into the straight but Baguette had it shot to bits at the furlong.”

Quinton, Ollie Tait and Jill Nivison, will be a happy trio if the Canterbury-bound Signor Tortoni can pull off something similar in the Schweppes Handicap (1250m).

The Tait/Nivison-bred son of the Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber-bred Too Darn Hot left a favourable impression on debut when clocking in a brave fourth in the opener at the traditional Boxing Day meeting at Royal Randwick.

“I thought it was a very good run,” Quinton said.

“He boxed on strongly and he only got beaten less than three-quarters of a length.”

Ironically, the horse that won the race was Crepe Myrtle, a $900,000 Easter Yearling Godolphin purchase, and the second foal of Dixie Blossoms who was one of Quinton’s trio of Coolmore Classic winners.

“I am a little bit concerned about his barrier (9) but you don’t know what is going to happen, especially on a wet track,” Quinton said.

Lough Eske wins the Vale Sam Kavanagh Maiden on debut at @newcastleraces_ 💕@cwallerracing | @LeeMagorrianpic.twitter.com/oczwTr54Ba

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“He is a nice horse and the Too Darn Hot horses are flying at the moment.”

Signor Tortoni is the sixth foal of his dam, Tortoni, who was herself the last foal of the Tait/Nivison’s Thousand Guineas, Tea Rose and Light Fingers winner, Whisked.

Whisked’s first foal was arguably the best horse since Baguette to wear the red jacket and white cap, namely their 14-time Group 1 winner, Tie The Knot.

Tortoni has shown signs of her own worth and effectiveness as a broodmare.

Her third foal is Cherry Tortoni whose wins included the Group 2 Moonee Valley Vase (2040m) just seven days ahead of his luckless fourth in the Victoria Derby.

Quinton won’t be the only eight-time Sydney Premiership winning jockey on hand at Canterbury.

James McDonald is down for six rides across the seven races, five of them for Chris Waller, the other for Ciaron Maher.

McDonald hasn’t ridden in front of a Sydney crown since one of the rare Rosehill midweeks on November 13 last year.

McDonald’s rides tonight are; Gatekeeper ($4), The Stars ($3.20 fav), Lough Eske ($4.40 fav), Kirikan ($3.60 fav), Demiana ($3.50 fav) and Wallenda ($4.60).

WILSON LOOKING FOR CAPTAIN FENKEL TO SALUTE AND BOOK BIG DANCE BERTH

The 2025 $3 million The Big Dance (1600m) could make way for its first ‘foreign raider’ after the running of the Ballina Cup.

TAB favourite to take out the annual town feature is the Queensland-bred and housed gelding Captain Fenkel who can cap off a huge week for his Gold Coast trainer Marcus Wilson who saddled-up the winner of the $250,000 Magic Millions Maiden last Saturday.

Kermadec’s son, Captain Fenkel, arrives at Ballina off the back of a neck second at Royal Randwick 13 days ago which in turn followed a string of honourable performances in stakes grade in Queensland.

“He has mostly raced in good races and he’s been going well this prep,” Wilson said.

“He is stakes-placed up here and then he ran fifth after that in the Members Mile and was arguably in the wrong part of the track that day.

Classy win by Captain Fenkel 👌 @JimmyOrmanpic.twitter.com/RrZnPQALyW

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“There were a couple of Magic Millions meetings up in the last few weeks which he wasn’t eligible for hence the reason we took him down to Sydney and I thought he ran terrific actually.

“You wouldn’t say unlucky, but he probably just needed a little bit of cover in the run.

“If he could have got that, it might have been the difference between winning and running second.

“He was exposed for the whole trip and found the front in the straight but he fought on right to the line. I thought it was a pretty encouraging effort from the horse.”

Randwick couldn’t be any more different from Ballina in terms of dimensions, a fact that ought to favour Wilson’s Southport resident.

“Ballina is a tightish circuit and good horses in general can overcome anything I suppose, but Ballina in general is a track that suits horses in the first four or five on speed with the sharper home turn and shorter straight,” he said.

“Captain Fenkel is a horse that can lead, he has led previously, but I don’t think he is a good leader. I think he is a better chaser than anything and he is switching off and relaxing well in his races.

“Ballina sets up for a track would suit this horse’s racing pattern.”

So, it seems would The Big Dance itself.

“I think he is the right sort of horse.

“A lightly-raced horse with ability that you would point in that direction rather than an older horse who had 40 or 50 starts.”