MICHELLE PAYNE LANDS HER FIRST QUEENSLAND WINNER AS A TRAINER

By Graham Potter | Saturday, February 12, 2022

The Queensland arm of the Michelle Payne stable claimed its first success in the Sunshine State when the five-year-old gelding Group Think took out the BM 73 Handicap over 1630m … the opening race on the Doomben card.

Jim Byrne, who currently leads the Brisbane Jockey’s Premiership, had no hesitation in sending

Group Think into an immediate lead. Once there, Byrne showed why he has remained in the top tier of the riding ranks for so long, rating his mount to perfection as he dictated the terms of the race to suit himself.

In the end, he didn’t have too much to spare as a wall of horses charged at Group Think over the final 100m, but the son of So You Think and Byrne had done enough to claim a very satisfying victory for the stable.

“We just have a boutique stable up here in Queensland, “said Nikita Beriman, who looks after the Payne stable interests in Queensland.

“We revolve the horses around from Victoria to Queensland. We’ve got four at the moment with another four or five to come back in. The door’s always open.

“We’ve had a couple that haven’t been the best of performers, so it was good to get one on the board … and to get it in town … even better.”

More articles