THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN: IT WILL BE FASCINATING TO SEE HOW THIS ONE PLAYS OUT

By Graham Potter | Friday, June 5, 2020

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

The Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap takes centre stage at Eagle Farm on Saturday. It might, in a sense, be a poor man’s Stradbroke with regards to the prize-money on offer in this Covid 19 impacted year … the stake has been slashed from $1.5 million to $350 000 … but that will only be a minor reference in the record books when the result is recorded late on Saturday afternoon.

A Group 1 is a Group 1! For those who add the Stradbroke to their resume, it is a significant prize, whatever the circumstances.

With the prize-money cut and the stringent travel and quarantine restrictions that remain in place in Queensland … which has had a massive impact on the number of visiting jockeys … this year’s edition of Queensland’s signature race provides a huge opportunity for a number of jockeys who otherwise might not have been facing the starter.

In 2019, fourteen of the seventeen Stradbroke runners were partnered by interstate jockeys. This year sixteen of the eighteen runners have local jockeys aboard … a more than seventy percent increase in involvement … and that comes with another twist and variation from the norm.

Because of the weights allocated this year, the majority of runners are relatively lightly weighted. Combine that with a scarcity of genuine lightweight jockeys in terms of availability and suddenly, a full four days out from race-day, we already had five jockeys being given permission by QRIC stewards to ride between 0.5kg and 1.00kg overweight … a situation which seldom, if ever, has occurred before.

Within this extraordinary mix, there are stories aplenty waiting to unfold.

Can Tegan Harrison, only back a week after suffering serious injuries in a heavy fall, or Stephanie Thornton, who, by contrast, is having a season which just keep getting better, trump their male rivals and score a famous victory? Can either Justin Huxtable or Corey Bayliss, apprentices who are riding without their claims, upstage their more senior rivals? Can Jason Taylor or Michael Cahill add a second Stradbroke to their honour roll? Can Taylor Marshall join the Group 1 winning rider’s club which his late father John graced with such aplomb? Can Eagle Farm based, multiple Group 1 winning trainer Robert Heathcote land his first Group 1 win in his home state?

And there is so many more feel-good stories, away from the usual suspects, warming up on the sidelines … but whether they will get to play a major role remains to be seen because the shadow of the mighty Godolphin racing machine looms large.

Godolphin sends out four runners headed by last year’s Stradbroke winner Trekking. Their chance of victory clearly extends beyond mere numbers and it would be no surprise if the blue army were to add another Group 1 to their already burgeoning honour roll and, in so doing, dash the dreams of so many.

As always though, the nature of the game remains … if you have got a ticket, you have got a chance.

It’s as true now as ever and it should be fascinating to see how this one plays out!

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