Lad backs up to collect cash

TRAINER Darryl Johnston would have been smiling all the way back to Rockhampton after Aspen Lad made it backto-back wins with a dominant victory in the Two-Years-Old Handicap (950m) at Cannon Park yesterday.

Ridden by his partner, Rockhampton jockey Natalea Summers, Johnston’s twoyear-old gelding came to the front at the turn and then went well clear in the straight to win by almost five lengths.

It follows Aspen Lad’s impressive all-the-way win at Townsville’s Cluden Park the week prior.

“I expected him to go well in Townsville and he did,” Johnston said.

“But with no 1000m races in Rocky, we decided to leave him with Sharlee D’Avila up in Tolga for a week and then backed him up.

“She done a great job with him, so we’re very happy.”

Despite taking out yesterday’s $19,000 Two-Years-Old Handicap (950m) and last week’s $31,000 QTIS 2 and 3YO Maiden (1000m) at Cluden Park, Johnston will not be taking Aspen Lad to next week’s big money race in Townsville – the $35,000 Great Northern Classic 2YO Plate (1200m).

“He’ll be going home and we’ll give him a couple of weeks, three weeks probably now, break,” the trainer said.

“He’s backed up after being first-up and he’s done a good job.

“We’ll look after him – he’s a bit above average.

“He’s one of the fastest horses I’ve had and he’s just been a natural all along.” Johnston said while nothing was set in stone yet, he had plans to bring the horse back up this way again.

“We don’t come up here often, but I’m two for two now,” he said. “We usually only come up for the carnivals, if we’ve got one that’s good enough, but the QTIS money is good money and we’ve got to travel for it.”

Meanwhile, the non-TAB race meeting scheduled for Innisfail Turf Club for this Saturday, June 13, has been rescheduled to Saturday, June 20.