Star stable back in form

The win on a Metropolitan Wednesday card boosted Connoisseur's career earnings to $145,000 from 21 career starts.

Apprentice jockey Stephanie Thornton Connoisseur won the Sirromet Class 5 Plate at the Ipswich racetrack. Picture: Rob Williams

TURF CHAT

AFTER a powerful finish to the 2019 season, it is surprising that it took until the sixth meeting of the new season for the Anderson Heathcote Racing Team to get on the winner's board at Ipswich.

Following some great success in the first six months since Robert Heathcote and Chris Anderson formed one training stable, five-year-old gelding Connoisseur collected his fifth career win with his first Ipswich victory last Wednesday.

The win on a Metropolitan Wednesday card boosted Connoisseur's career earnings to $145,000 from 21 career starts.

Apprentice jockey Stephanie Thornton continued her terrific form to collect her second win at Ipswich for the season. In doing so, Thornton was the only jockey outside of the current top four riders to win on Wednesday.

Connoisseur defeated Beacon from the Toby and Trent Edmonds stable ridden by Ryan Maloney, and Happy Hooves trained by Tony Gollan and ridden by Jim Byrne in the Class five plate.

However, each of these two stables were not to be denied later picking up four wins between them as did the two placed jockeys in the Class Five Plate.

Double boost big guns' tallies

THERE was a familiar look at the top of the premiership boards after the latest Ipswich meeting.

Eight-time Ipswich premier jockey Jim Byrne sits atop with 10 wins and Tony Gollan leads the trainer's list with eight.

This came after the pair collected a winning double and treble respectively.

Ryan Maloney also collected a winning double aboard Maslow for the Edmonds stable and He's the Deel for Stuart Kendrick to move second on the ladder with six season wins.

Byrne's winners were Getyuourgreyon, for Matthew Dunn, and Amiticia, for Tony Gollan.

Gollan's other two winners for the day were ridden by apprentice Nick Keal whose star continues to rise.

This double was made up of Six Sigma and Solar Star giving Gollan three legs of the quadrella.

This double of wins for Keal moved him to third on the current jockey's list with six season wins.

Michael Cahill moved to fourth after winning on Starlighter for Gary Doughty.

New jockey rooms open

THE first use was made of the new jockey rooms last Wednesday at the Ipswich racetrack.

After decades of putting up with substandard facilities, the jockeys were generally thrilled to have new rooms at such a high standard.

125-1 shock

AFTER a fortnight's break, the southern Group 1 carnival resumed with another shock result.

The Makybe Diva at Flemington in Melbourne was won by Western Australian $125-1 shot Gatting, from the odds-on favourite Mystic Journey.

In third place, putting in a stylish run, was Mr Quickie who was first up since winning the Queensland Derby in the Winter. This galloper will be targeted at longer distance races over the carnival along with a couple of dozen northern hemisphere horses being prepared to travel to Melbourne.

Next week the top races are the George Main Stakes at Randwick in Sydney, and the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes at Caulfield in Melbourne.

The Sydney Carnival is completed with the Everest on October 19 at Randwick.

In Melbourne, the carnival is rounded out with eight Group 1 races at Flemington during Cup week which ends on November 9.

Next meetings

The next Ipswich meeting is on Friday, prior to a short break before returning on Wednesday, October 2.

Originally published as Star stable back in form