Racehorse beats the odds for magical final finish

‘A dream come true’: Warwick horse gallops through Magic Millions Country Cup qualifier.

MAGIC RUN: Trainer Leo Roche with Colpo Di Tamburo.

HORSE RACING: It was a Magic Million run for Warwick-owned and trained horse Colpo Di Tamburo at the annual Boxing Day races.

The odds were in the five-year-old gelding’s favour in the Maydan Livestock/Freestone Feedlot Magic Millions Country qualifier, but owner Joanne Roche said she was shocked by the win.

“We were extremely excited – I was elated like you wouldn’t believe,” Roche said.

“He wasn’t the red hot favourite going into the race and he was going up against some tough competition.

“I think if the race was any further, then he might not have had the distance, but he did really well where it mattered.”

Now trained by Leo Roche, it’s been a successful 18 months for Joanne Roche, who gained complete ownership of Colpo after the previous syndicate fell through.

“My husband Leo bought him originally for a friend of ours to train,” she said.

“At that time we owned him in a syndicate but he just wasn’t ready to race yet.”

Now, the dynamic husband and wife partnership has led to a solid track record after 36 years of working together.

“Leo is very good with training horses – they’ve been his passion his whole life and he knows what they are capable of,” she said.

“For the conditions we’ve got here, he’s done extremely well to keep them going, and to keep new horses coming through.

“That was the seventh win that Colpo has had for us in 12 months, and the second time he’s broken a track record here in Warwick.”

The Boxing Day win at Allman Park puts Colpo Di Tamburo in the running for the Magic Millions Country Cup on the Gold Coast on January 4.

“It’s a dream come true, really,” she said.

“You always hope to one day have a horse that could run in that sort of race.

“Qualifying was the main thing, but now we just have to get him down there in good form and hopefully to have a good run.”

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