Class rose to the top with Group 1 winner Tuvulu lumping a big weight to victory in the Listed Wangoom Handicap at Warrnambool races.
Regarded as the ‘Newmarket of the bush’ at Warrnambool races Tuvalu carried 61.5kg to land the 1200m contest on Wednesday and earn himself a trip to Queensland for the Winter Carnival.
Ridden by Fred Kersley, Tuvalu $9.50 in betting led throughout to score by 1-¼ lengths from It’sourtime ($21) with Flash Flood ($11) a length away third.
Trainer Lindsey Smith did not expect Tuvalu to lead, despite the track favouring front-runners and horses positioned on the rail.
“When he came down Fred, he said he was going to find the fence,” Smith said.
“He said was that OK, and I said, ‘good luck if you can pull that off’.
“He’s a horse that is undefeated here at Warrnambool races and I’ve changed his training to keep him on the fresh side.
“His jump-outs have been good, but I didn’t expect him to lead, but it is one of those days that if he sits back, he has no hope.
“He was the best horse, and we let the jockey do the steering.”
Tuvalu will now head to Queensland for the upcoming Carnival with a new trainer to be sourced
Smith said he cannot afford the time to winter himself in Queensland.
“He will go to Queensland, but it won’t be with me, I have to stay home,” Smith said.
“The owners have a relationship with Chris Munce, so that’s where he will probably go.”
Kersley, who has become a mainstay of the Smith stable, said it was a great training performance to win the Wangoom Handicap first-up with the big weight at Warrnambool races.
“We all know his best trip is 1400 metres, a mile, and yes, he is a Group 1 winner, but he was giving seven kilos to some sharp 1200-metre horses,” Kersley said.
“He can train this bloke.
“He is a tough horse, a Group 1 horse and yes, the track was playing on pace and the rail was where you wanted to be, but he had to do it out of his comfort zone throughout.”
Local trainer Symon Wilde has registered a third victory in Australia’s most gruelling race, the Grand Annual Steeplechase at Warrnambool races when outsider Count Zero staged a form reversal to land the prize.
Count Zero was backing up from finishing last in the Brierly Steeplechase (3450m) on Tuesday, more than 35 lengths adrift of the winner Stern Idol but relished the 5500m journey on Thursday to outbob the more highly fancied Bell Ex One.
Wilde explained the decision was made to ride Count Zero more aggressively on Thursday after the gelding seemed disinterested under Darryl Horner on Thursday.
“We had a bit to look at after the Brierly,” Wilde said.
“He didn’t jump well, and I think that was due to him being out the back and Darryl was terrific.
“He said why don’t we put him up the front like he usually is. I’ll kick him hard out of the gates, and he jumped beautifully today, just with a better look at them.
“It was like he was disinterested in the Brierly when he got too far back off them.
“We were really lucky with the ground as he’s a top of the ground horse, but we know he can stay.
“He’s won a Jericho and he just needed to get that jumping right, and that happened today.”
Count Zero became the second horse to win Australia’s longest flat race, the Jericho Cup (4600m), run at Warrnambool races in December, and the Grand Annual.
Ablaze completed the double, first winning the Jericho in 2019 before his Grand Annual success the following year at Warrnambool races while Count Zero completed the double four years apart.
Count Zero follows Gold Medals (2018 and 2021) as Wilde’s previous Grand Annual victories at Warrnambool races.
Horner took some time away from race riding without totally giving up on the sport he loves.
He said the Grand Annual was the Warrnambool races every jumps jockey strives to win, but in the lead-up to the race he was wondering whether the weight loss, to get down to 64kg, was worth the effort.
“It’s not the reason I came back riding, but it’s the race every jumps jockey wants to win,” he said.
“I went home about two hours ago to pull the last kilo off, and I was lying in the bath thinking was it all worth it.
“I can tell you it is.”
A former jumps jockey that won Australia’s most gruelling race has landed the major flat race as a trainer at the Warrnambool races May Carnival.
Shane Jackson won the 2020 Grand Annual Steeplechase (5500m) on Ablaze and was in the winner’s circle on Thursday as the trainer of Listed Warrnambool Cup (2350m) winner Mystery Island.
After retiring from race riding, Jackson joined the Warrnambool stable of Lindsey Smith as an assistant trainer and has turned out 32 runners in his name since being granted a trainer’s licence in 2022, registering three wins.
All three victories have come with Mystery Island who carries the colours of Americain, the 2010 Melbourne Cup winner.
“It’s unbelievable. What a horse,” Jackson said.
“I said he deserved to win a good race. I was very nervous with the ground, but Harry gave him a beautiful ride and snuck up on the fence when others were trying to get off.
“None of this would be possible without the Lindsey Smith team and Lindsey handed me this horse to have in my own name.
“The owners Colleen and Kevin Bamford are overseas at the minute and to train a winner for Gerry Ryan in these colours, for people like that, I’m very privileged.”
Ridden by Harry Coffey, Mystery Island ($14) raced to a 4-½ length win from No Apology ($26) with the $4.60 betting app favourite Little Mix a long neck away third.
Jackson said he held concerns about the ‘gluey’ ground on Thursday, but Coffey was able to plot a path near the inside while keeping the gelding comfortable in his action.
“I’ve been riding the horse all prep in some really strong races and he’s been flying,” Coffey said.
“Everytime I get on him, the horse fills you with confidence, he felt great going to the start and he looks amazing.
“I just thought if I can get this bloke to travel and be confident for as long as he can, we might have something left at the end.
“That he did. He knew he was on his home track, and he let rip at the end.”
The Lindsey Smith team earlier in Carnival took out the feature sprint with Tuvalu landing the Listed Wangoom Handicap (1200m) on day two of the Warrnambool races.
A horse bred to be a champion on the flat has won the feature jumps race on day two of the Warrnambool races May Carnival.
Chains Of Honour has given Ciaron Maher his fourth win in the Galleywood Hurdle (3200m) and third in succession with his victory at Warrnambool races on Wednesday.
By champion sire Redoute’s Choice from dual Group 1 winning mare Faint Perfume, Chains Of Honour followed the back-to-back wins of Saunter Boy in the feature hurdle race of the three-day Warrnambool races carnival.
Included in the ownership of Chains Of Honour are David Eustace, who shared training duties with Maher until this year, Annabel Neasham, Gerald Ryan, Jack Turnbull and Chris Waller’s assistant trainer Charlie Duckworth.
Ridden by French jockey Luca Remondet, Chains Of Honour ($11) held off a late challenge from Port Guillaume ($6) with El Diez ($14) a further 2-½ lengths away third.
Maher said Wednesday’s success can be attributed to his brother Declan who said the Galleywood was a winnable race this year at the Warrnambool races.
“Dec actually said the Galleywood was a winnable race this year and I thought we were mad,” Maher said.
“He couldn’t go in the Novice (run on Thursday) as there was a clause there saying because he’d been two years between (jumps) runs or something.
“So, to get a horse to do that, that hasn’t raced over jumps for a couple of years, in that sort of field, is a phenomenal effort from Dec and the Ballarat team.”
Chains Of Honour spent just shy of two years away from racing with a tendon injury and had not raced over jumps since falling at Ballarat in August 2022.
Declan Mahar said the way Remondet handled Chains Of Honour should open further doors for the Frenchman who was having just his seventh ride since settling in Australia and now a winner at the Warrnambool races.
“Shout out to Luca, what a super ride,” Maher said.
“He’s a good kid and I’m sure after today, everyone knows who he is. He listens, he does everything you ask of him.
“He’s had over 100 rides in France, and he’s hit the board pretty well now. He’s only had about six rides (in Australia) and how good, he’s won a Galleywood.
“I must make mention of Willie McCarthy. He did a lot of work on this horse, and he made the decision to school over fences the first time and then we hurdle trialled it.”
This week at the renowned Warrnambool races carnival, Mitch Freedman, a leading Group 1-winning trainer, showcased his prowess once again with a thrilling victory.
With his recent triumph, Mitch reaffirms his position as one of the most talented and respected trainers in the industry.
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This Filly is by Yulong Stud’s exciting young sire Tagaloa and out of the Sebring mare Jasmine Wind. Tagaloa was an impressive winner of the 2 year old Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes at 1200m.
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Thornton NSW 2322
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