Will Hulbert sets sights on Group 1 JJ Atkins with Eagle Farm winner Thee Creek

Trainer Will Hulbert was testing Queensland winter carnival ambitions with Thee Creek on Saturday at Eagle Farm and the young colt passed with flying colours.

Thee Creek enhanced his Group 1 ambitions with a smart win at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

Will Hulbert was always confident his young “cool dude” colt would have the favourite’s measure and so it proved, as Thee Creek scored at Eagle Farm to set him on track for a Group 1 winter carnival tilt.

Punters had the QTIS 2YO Handicap (1300m) pegged as a two-horse race with Lee Freedman’s filly Profoundly holding sway as the well-backed $1.75 favourite while Thee Creek was second pick at $3.90.

• PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet’s team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW!

Hulbert had been bullish about Thee Creek’s prospects, publicly stating 24 hours before the race that he had no qualms about taking Profoundly on.

Profoundly was back last and needing to run past Thee Creek.

But third-placed Profoundly never looked a winning chance as jockey Mark Du Plessis was giggling to himself when he let the handbrake off Thee Creek.

Thee Creek, named after iconic Brisbane watering hole The Breakfast Creek Hotel, will now have a let-up before being targeted at the Group 1 JJ Atkins (1600m) on Stradbroke Handicap day at Eagle Farm in June.

“This colt is just such a cool dude, nothing fazes him,” Hulbert, who trains in partnership with father Peter, said.

“He was born a good sort, he looks a hell of a lot like his dad (Better Than Ready).

“All the data we have got off his track work says he will run a mile, in time, so we have just got to teach him to relax.

Thee Creek takes the Eagle Farm opener in style! @HulbertRacing | @plessis_mark | @BrisRacingClubpic.twitter.com/rOxYLSS9Am

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 5, 2025

“It was a good effort today, he carried a lot more weight than the rest of them and was too good for them.

“It was a terrific win because he was exposed from the 500(m) because they just slowed up there.

“Mark (Du Plessis) did the right thing and just got him out rolling under the big weight and he did well to sustain a long run.

“He carried a lot more weight than the rest of them and was too good for them.”

After the race, the jockeys went into the stewards’ room to look at the replay given that Taylor Marshall’s mount (Powerful Crown) shied when passing the area near the 600m mark where there is a “sightscreen” to obstruct the view of building on the point of the turn.

Prior to the construction of the expensive sight screen, jockeys refused to ride for several meetings at Eagle Farm last year.

But jockeys on Saturday were happy to ride on, with the prevailing view that Marshall’s mount had been unruly before the race and on several occasions during the race.

Meanwhile, Hulbert and connections were planning to have a beer at the Breakfast Creek Hotel to celebrate before heading to the Brisbane Broncos’ clash against the West Tigers at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.

Originally published as Will Hulbert sets sights on Group 1 JJ Atkins with Eagle Farm winner Thee Creek