Toowoomba Review: Nathan Exelby talks with the winners and losers from Saturday’s Queensland metropolitan meeting
THE Courier Mail racing editor Nathan Exelby reviews Saturday’s Toowoomba meeting, with comments from the beaten division and the big winners.
THE Courier Mail racing editor Nathan Exelby reviews Saturday’s Toowoomba meeting, with comments from the beaten division and the big winners.
Race 1
Kelly Schweida says he is still “working out” Ruling Force, but described him as “a tough bugger” after he got the better of the more fancied Col ‘N’ Lil to open the Weetwood meeting.
“He’s in that awkward spot where he’s not quite good enough for Open company, but these Benchmark races suit him and there’s another one he can go to in a couple of weeks,” Schweida said.
Jockey Luke Dittman reported the winner sprung a plate in the run.
THE RUNNER-UP
“I thought I was going to get the winner in a three wide spot but he just slot in straight behind me. He got the better run and that was the difference,” Col ‘N’ Lil’s rider Jim Byrne said.
THE BETTING
Col ‘N’ Lil was clearly the worst way for the book, with Ruling Force easing to $3.70 with UBET by start time.
Race 2
Luke Dittman shrugged off some pre-race illness to give Sarisara a perfect ride in landing a first up plunge.
Off an awkward draw, Dittman had Sarisara in a lovely trailing spot soon after the start and she looked in total control throughout.
“I must say, I was worried when I saw him before the race. He looked terrible,” trainer Rex Lipp said. “But he assured me he would be fine and he’s ridden her perfectly.”
Lipp said he would have happily started Sarisara in the Weetwood had she secured a start but this was a nice “consolation” prize.
Dittman said he had been battling a chest infection all week and he was simply trying to clear his throat.
WINNING JOCKEY
“They wanted to stand me down, but there was no way I was getting off her,” he said. “Maybe I should have chosen a different place (rather than the mounting yard).”
THE BETTING
Sarisara was off the map on course and a loser for UBET, but the agency’s worst result would have been Lilly The Filly, who was $19 into $12.
Race 3
“He’s pretty quick.”
Jeff Lloyd stated the obvious to connections after Brooklyn Storm put a 1.07 second dent in the old Toowoomba 1050m track record, meaning records have fallen in each of the three races run so far.
“It was lucky they held up the start for a while. He took a long time to settle in there,” Lloyd said. “But he jumped two lengths in front and was very impressive.”
THE BETTING
Punters picked Brooklyn Storm one out and bookies were only saved a heftier payout with the deductions for late scratching Gracida.
Race 4
Jockey Jeff Lloyd told connections Crack Me Up will come right into his own when he gets to a mile and wasn’t entitled to be beating shorter-course horses at this stage of his career in the wake of his Dalrello win.
Crack Me Up lived up to his eye-catching first up run and relished the hot speed to win the Dalrello running away.
“He’s improving a lot and learning all the time. He put himself in the right spot and was a lot more professional today,” Lloyd said.
“He will get up to a mile no problem. He has all the assets to appreciate that distance. He has no right to be beating these speed horses and it’s just because he has a lot of class on those.”
THE RUNNER-UP
“We were beaten by a better horse but she tried her guts out,” Luke Dittman said of Spot The Diff.
PLEASE EXPLAIN
Stewards grilled trainer John Zielke and jockey Skye Bogenhuber as to why Happy Event did not come back and take a sit off the favourite Love Spy when the two fillies cleared out.
Bogenhuber said the filly resented being restrained and wanted to run off every time she tried.
Zielke noted the filly lost her tongue tie either before the race or at the start and told stewards she may have got her tongue over the bit and therefore wanted to over-race.
Stewards told Zielke he is free to go but want to question Bogenhuber later today.
THE BETTING
Love Spy would have been clearly the worst result but after the speed battle, she was gone before the turn.
Race 5
Desleigh Forster believes Too Good To Refuse may be “too brilliant” to get over more ground, but still has plenty of options around the mile for the Rothesay colt.
“He’s had no luck at all the whole way through with barriers and a couple of bad rides,” Forster said.
“I’m happy for Ryan (Wiggins). He’s been working hard and some time ago I said the ride was his for the whole carnival if he wants it.
“It’s a pleasure to train him. He’s a really nice horse.”
Wiggins said runner-up Havasay outsprinted the winner on the turn, but he was on the stronger horse late.
“He still had a little bit in reserve on the line too,” Wiggins said.
“The race was made for him. I got on the back of Havasay and knew he would take me into the race.”
THE RUNNER-UP
“My horse really knuckled down strongly. He came back at the winner late,” Robert Thompson said of Havasay.
THE BETTING
UBET fielded twice as many individual bets on Too Good To Refuse than it did on Havasay.
Race 6
Punters singled Honey Toast out on Wednesday and the momentum stayed all the way through to raceday, with the Ben Currie trained stayer justifying his $1.80 quote to win the Toowoomba Cup.
“When you know you’re on the best stayer in the field you may as well make them work,” winning jockey Jim Byrne said.
Ben Currie described the win as “right up there” among his racing highlights, coming in his hometown.
THE RUNNER-UP
“He’s done a great job. We might give him another month off now and get him ready for another crack at the Queensland Cup,” trainer Peter Robl said of Iggi Pop.
THE BETTING
UBET said 70 per cent of all money wagered on the Cup was for Honey Toast. Bets were headed by $5000 at $1.90 and $3000 at $2.40 earlier in the week.
Race 7
Tony Sears has hovered on the periphery of Weetwood success for years. Finally on Saturday, Choice Bro provided him with “close to” his best moment in racing with victory in the famous Toowoomba feature.
“I got a great thrill out of that,” he said after training the second and third placegetters 12 months ago.
Sears also prepared third placed Pillar Of Creation, meaning the celebrations will roll on for many hours on Saturday night.
It was also a career highlight for Jimmy Orman, who only lost his claim last week.
“This is the start of the winter carnival and I’m very pleased to notch an early feature win,” he said.
“The Weetwood is the race all the young guys talk about winning up here, so it’s very satisfying to have done it.”
THE BETTING
Runner-up Coolring accounted for more than half of UBET’s hold on the race and in the words of a spokesman, the Choice Bro upset “more than made up for the Honey Toast loss.”
Race 8
Punters were off the mark with their plonk on Upstart Pride, with the far more promising commodity Trubia trumping his rivals with a big first up win.
“He’s a progressive horse. He needs to keep improving, but that’s what he’s doing at the moment and that was pretty soft in the end,” jockey Michael Cahill said.
Trainer Mick Lakey has another Set Weights Class 6 picked out in a fortnight before setting his sights higher.
“The Darley (1350m Doomben) is the race I’ve got in mind and we will nominate him for everything and if he measures up in that, then we will see what happens,” he said.
THE BETTING
Trubia was well backed late from $4.60 to $4, but Upstart Pride was all the rage early, being $4-$3.
Originally published as Toowoomba Review: Nathan Exelby talks with the winners and losers from Saturday’s Queensland metropolitan meeting
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