Newhart revs up for return
LAST season’s Tasmanian horse of the year Newhart will make his long-awaited return to the track in the Deloraine Cup over 1450m in Launceston on Sunday.
And jockey Craig Newitt will make the trip from Melbourne to be reacquainted with the six-year-old son of Fighting Sun.
Newhart has not raced since he was diagnosed with bone chips in his nearside front leg in October after a short campaign interstate.
The gelding had the chips removed and, after a spell at Armidale, he returned to trainer Barry Campbell’s Spreyton stables in February.
“We took him along slowly at the start, but we have stepped up the work, his trials were really good and despite him having a big weight on Sunday (64kg) he should be able to cope and he’s there to win if he can.” Campbell said.
Newhart won two Devonport cups and made a clean sweep of the state’s best weight-for-age races in the 2020-21 season when in the care of Leanne Gaffney, who took over from Campbell when he was sidelined through disqualification.
“He is a very good horse, and his record proves that, and we are all looking forward to him racing again,” Campbell said.
The Deloraine Cup is the feature race on Sunday’s program, but it also will be a trip down memory lane as most of the races are named in honour of some of the greatest names in Tasmanian racing.
The Terry and Roseanne Roles Class Three Handicap will no doubt produce an emotional presentation to the winner as they died within six months of each other and they were two of the mostloved people in the industry.
Newitt will be keen to take a ride in the Guy Newitt Memorial (0-62) as the race is named in honour of his late father, who played a key role in his life.
The Malua 3YO Handicap is named in honour of the most famous Tasmanian-bred horse.
Malua won the Melbourne Cup and Adelaide Cup before taking out the nation’s two best sprints the Newmarket Handicap and the Oakleigh Plate, and all in the same season (1883-84).
Malua, bred at the famous Calstock Stud at Deloraine, was one of the inaugural inductees into the Australian Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame. Tasmanian Bloodstock general manager Neil Walsh has worked with the Tasmanian Turf Club to secure sponsors for all races as well as entertainment at the venue that will be family orientated.
Brent Crawford will act as master of ceremonies at the luncheon and special guest speaker will be Bruce “Snowy” Clarke, who represents Leon and Troy Corstens’ Malua Racing Stables based at Flemington.
It will be the first meeting held in Launceston since Good Friday (April 15) and trainers have shown their support for the meeting with 136 nominations for the eightrace card.