THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN: LETS GIVE QUEENSLAND TRAINERS CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE

By Graham Potter | Sunday, June 14, 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 fact that the revised and reduced Queensland Racing Winter Carnival only boasted two Group 1’s this year might seem to take the gloss off the Group 1 clean sweep achieved by local trainers and jockeys at Eagle Farm last Saturday, but that call might not be a fair reflection of what has transpired.

Certainly, without question, the absence of the usual full flow of top interstate jockeys, most of whom declined the option of spending two weeks in quarantine before being able to ride in Queensland, weighed the dice heavily in favour of the local riders, but that large imbalance was not in play in terms of the actual runners and the trainers participation.

Interstate trainers saddled no less than twelve of the eighteen runners in the Stradbroke and all of the big names were there … James Cummings (Godolphin), Chris Waller, the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott partnership, Peter and Paul Snowden, Bjorn Baker, the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace partnership, Kris Lees, Jenny Graham … so this was never going to be any walk in the park for the local challengers, yet they shone through producing four of the first six runners across the line and three out of the first four.

Having said that, Chris Waller almost stole the result with Madame Rouge, a $51 chance … but he didn’t … while the Gai Waterhouse and Andrew Bott trained Dawn Passage, who, at $4.20, was only runner quoted below $10, could only manage ninth place.

So, let’s give the Queensland trainers credit where credit is due.

They took the state’s biggest race by the scruff of the neck, gave it a good shake and there could be no more deserving race winner than Tyzone, who motored with meaning from the back of the field to pounce in the very last stride to give the father and son training team of Toby and Trent Edmonds their first taste of Group 1 success which only added to the thrill of the moment.

In the JJ Atkins, the locally trained Rothfire simply outclassed his rivals for trainer Robert Heathcote and two other locals, Gotta Kiss and The Drinks Cart, followed Rothfire home. Waller again did best of the visitors with Overlord but that was a fourth placing, beaten by four lengths.

As there always are, there will be people who question the quality and depth of these Group 1 fields and some will say the absence of most the leading riders diminished the value of the contest … but, also as always, as with any race in any year, it is what it is and, for me, the locals can take a bow for rising to the Group 1 challenge and, for once, making sure they sent the southern raiders home empty handed.

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