Downhearted gets up

DOWNHEARTED finally broke through for his first Territory win with an all-the-way victory in the Katherine Cup yesterday.

Having his ninth NT start, the seven-year-old son of Starcraft, trained by Gary Clarke and with Brendon Davis in the saddle, went straight to the front from the 1700m barrier and although inclined to race a little intractably, proved too strong for his rivals, scoring by a length and a half from a game Gracious Prospect, with Coonawarra third.

Prior to his maiden NT win, Downhearted, formerly trained by Mick Price in Victoria, had gathered three seconds, a third, a fourth (in the Alice Springs Cup) and a fifth.

Raced by a syndicate led by Josh McShanag and including 2019 Darwin Cup Carnival ambassador Brooke Prince, Downhearted has now won five of his 42 starts, and with 14 seconds and four thirds for earnings of $246,600.

While Downhearted was the star of the day, Melanie Tyndall stole the show with a winning treble in the saddle.

Tyndall began the day in the best possible fashion, guiding Choice Approach, trained by Tom Harrower, to an impressive win in the opener, the Dolly’s Dream Community Handicap.

Two races later, she was again in the winner’s circle, piloting Roughly to a frontrunning success in the Hankel Moffatt Memorial.

And in the fifth race of the day, she rounded off a superb afternoon aboard Black Hat, who was never headed in the Express Signs Handicap.

Black Hat, formerly trained by Stephen Brown, was purchased following the recent Darwin Cup Carnival by trainer Phil Cole, and gave him the second leg of a winning double, following on from Roughly’s success earlier in the day.

Cole and Tyndall, by virtue of their excellent day out, carried off the leading trainer and jockey’s prize respectively, rewarded with a $2000 and $1000 bonus.

Baggins (Tayarn Halter/ Paul Denton), something of a country meeting specialist, scored a narrow win in the One Set Plastering Handicap, while Honour The Work (Neil Dyer/Sonja Wiseman) got in the deciding stride to down Supreme Deal by a nose in the Mindil Beach Casino/NT Keno Maiden.

It was an outstanding day’s racing at the last of the country meetings in the Territory for 2019, with a crowd approaching 2500 in attendance.