Toby Edmonds chases another Stradbroke Handicap golden ticket with in-form mare Ready To Schipp
Trainer Toby Edmonds will aim to snatch another golden ticket into the Stradbroke Handicap with flying mare Ready To Schipp.
Toby Edmonds has already cashed in one Stradbroke Handicap golden ticket this year – now he’s hoping to land another one.
During the Queensland winter carnival, Edmonds’ filly Spicy Martini claimed ballot exemption into the 2025 Stradbroke when scoring the Group 3 Fred Best Classic.
Spicy Martini finished down the track in the Stradbroke won by War Machine, but now Gold Coast trainer Edmonds is lining up to try to claim a golden ticket into the 2026 Group 1 Stradbroke.
The winner of Saturday’s $300,000 Gateway at Eagle Farm snatches automatic entry into next year’s Stradbroke and Edmonds has in-form mare Ready To Schipp as the second pick in betting at $3.90 only behind favourite Boomtown Boss ($2.70).
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Ready To Schipp has been a winning machine and is aiming for her fourth consecutive win, on the back-up from easily disposing of her rivals at Doomben last Saturday.
“She was a late nomination for this race, she was going to run in the Just Now but I saw the Gateway field and thought it was within reach for her if she could take her Doomben form to Eagle Farm,” Edmonds said.
“If she wins, we could work backwards from the Stradbroke next year in terms of planning things, assuming she was in good enough form.
“She won really well the other day I thought, running right through the line.
“She has improved each preparation with age and maturity.
“The best part about her is that she is so stress free, she is a beautiful horse and there is no drama and there never has been a drama.
“She is the kindest horse you would ever meet and she is very easy to work with.
“Hence, she is starting to produce really good form.”
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Edmonds knows what it takes to win a Stradbroke, having scored the 2020 race with Tyzone at a time when Covid-19 restrictions were hitting hard.
Ready To Schipp was a $90,000 Magic Millions buy, meaning that Edmonds and connections can also target the rich day on the Gold Coast next month.
It would be a bonus if the four-year-old mare could win the $300,000 Gateway and secure a Stradbroke ticket.
“We had to have a run in between last Saturday and the Magic Millions,” Edmonds said.
“So why not go bang here, and then she can have four weeks into the Magic Millions?
“She could run in the mares races or she could run in the QTIS race on Magic Millions day.
“Unless she happened to perform poorly on Saturday, we are definitely heading down that path.”
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Meanwhile, Edmonds has some positive news for racing participants eyeing off the Gold Coast Magic Millions.
The track has been plagued with various issues over the last couple of years but Edmonds says his local track is now performing well.
“The Gold Coast track has come on in leaps and bounds since they did a soft renovation on it a while back,” he said.
“You can see now that the track has actually got some guts to it and it’s holding together well.”
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Originally published as Toby Edmonds chases another Stradbroke Handicap golden ticket with in-form mare Ready To Schipp
