THE LURE OF THE SUNSHINE COAST - TWO GROUP I WINNING TRAINERS SET UP SHOP

By Graham Potter | Sunday, January 13, 2013

Graham Potter writes a weekly column for the Sunshine Coast daily which appears every Sunday. Due to demand from those having trouble accessing the paper these columns are now also published on HRO courtesy of the Sunshine Coast daily

Two Group 1 winning “imports” have significantly enhanced the training ranks at the Sunshine Coast in recent times and the landing of the level of expertise that Kiwi ex-pats Paul Jenkins and Paul Duncan bring to the game can only be of benefit to the local industry.

For both trainers the lure of a move to the Sunshine Coast has been a tempting prospect for some time.

“I stayed at the Sunshine Coast for a couple of winters before I moved here. I’ve probably been coming to Queensland for the last ten years, explained Jenkins, who has a Group 1 resume which includes wins with King Keitel (Doomben Cup) and Bazelle (The Auckland Cup and the Zabeel Classic).

“When I decided to relocate from New Zealand I chose to come to the Sunshine Coast because I think the facilities here are as good as you will find anywhere in the world.

“The accommodation … the tracks, not to mention a place for myself to live, are top class and I think it is the up and up as well.

“There is no reason why it can’t be the most successful training centre in Queensland, particularly with its close proximity to Brisbane.”

Paul Duncan echoed those sentiments.

“I’ve been here quite a few times in the past … holidaying, and also because of family here.

“I’d only been here with horses in 2005, but I have wanted to come here for probably the last ten years. I even came looking at properties maybe ten years ago.

“I was always getting set to make the move from New Zealand and then something … like a good horse would turn up, and so I wouldn’t leave. On the one hand I should have moved earlier, but if I had done that I wouldn’t have had the success that I had back home over the last four, five, six years.

“I’ve trained four Group 1 winners. In about 2003 I won the Wellington Cup with a horse called Oarsman. He also ran second in the Auckland Cup … only beaten a nose.
“Then I won the Oaks with Midnight Oil a couple of years ago and then two Group one’s with Say No More … the Thornton Mile and the NZ Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes. That was only just last year.

“I’m very happy here. It’s a great set-up. The facilities are first class. It’s a great track to run on.

“The lifestyle obviously is so much easier for us and the horses are coping well. It was just about changing their training routine a bit. It’s really good.”

Jenkins currently has five horses in work and he would ideally like to expand that team to a dozen. In the last six months Jenkins has sent out six winners in twenty-four starts at a really healthy winning strike-rate of twenty-five percent.

Duncan has nine in work at the present time and that number will increase to fourteen by the end of the month. In the last two months Duncan has saddled seven winners from seventeen starts for a winning strike-rate of no less than forty-one percent.

Impressive resumes detailing past achievements is one thing … current results are quite another matter.

In their own quiet way, both Jenkins and Duncan are coming out tops on both fronts.

Both trainers had their names on the results sheet at Caloundra again on Thursday as their on-going results continue to cement their respective reputations.

It’s good to have them here!

From the Sunshine Coast Daily, Sunday, January 13

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