THE SHUFFLING OF THE PACK BEGINS AS THE ARCHER SLOT HOLDERS TRY TO DECIDE ON THEIR BEST OPTIONS

By Graham Potter | Thursday, January 27, 2022

The race is still three-and-a-half months away but the twelve slot holders for the inaugural running of The Archer in Rockhampton on May 7 are sure to already be shuffling the pack of contenders as they look to secure their best hope of taking out the major share of the $440 00 prize-money on offer for the race.

The concept for the race follows the path set by The Everest, although here slots were on offer at $35 000 per slot for the weight-for-age contest which will be contested over 1300m at Callaghan Park.

Aquis Park and Whitby Bloodstock, already well known slot holders under The Everest banner, are among the confirmed slot holders for The Archer, as is Tom Hedley, the most prominent owner in Far North Queensland.

Hedley is a case in point in terms of shuffling the cards he has been dealt.

The two runners he has under consideration to take up his slot in The Archer are Hedley’s Group 1 Stradbroke winner Tyzone and the crowd favourite The Harrovian, will both be in action at the metropolitan meeting at the Sunshine Coast on Saturday, where they are due to race against each other in the featured Sunshine Coast Cup, with their respective performances likely to play a part in Hedley’s final selection regarding The Archer.

The Archer could be a Grand Final for either horse.

Tyzone is now an eight-year-old who has won seventeen times from forty-six starts having banked $1 295 000 in prize-money, while The Harrovian, also an eight-year-old, similarly has claimed seventeen wins in his career, although he has achieved that in only thirty-six starts. The Harrovian has also banked a $1 million plus in prize-money.

On the trainer’s side of the coin, Desleigh Forster is one who is confident her well-performed charge Apache Chase will figure in The Archer.

“It fits in perfect for him. It’s 1300m first-up on May 7 … three weeks into the (Group 1) Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) and then two weeks into the Stradbroke,” Forster told Racenet. “He is already in the Stradbroke so they can’t really handicap him for it.” (Apache Chase is exempt from the ballot for the 2022 Stradbroke after winning The Gateway).

Apache Chase is another $1 million earner ($1 500 125 to be exact) accumulated from eight wins and four places from twenty starts.

There is obviously still plenty of water to pass under this bridge before the starter calls the field for The Archer into the barriers, but you can expect the build-up for the race to gain some momentum in the coming weeks for what is a super new inclusion in the Queensland racing calendar.

The full list of slot-holders for The Archer is:

Alan & Jennifer Acton, Aquis Park, Archer Park Racing, Bucket List Syndicate, Rob & Leonie Carr, John Kele, Geoff Maynard Syndicate, Mackemme Racing, Ron & Jill Milne, Karla & Peter McPhail, Tom Hedley and Whitby Bloodstock,