Swaffer win the tonic for trainer

A MAIDEN FNQ carnival victory for local apprentice rider Krysten Swaffer was extra sweet for her boss Trevor Rowe.

While it was not a win in the Cairns Cup or Cairns Newmarket, being first past the post on a massive carnival day is always a special occasion for a jockey in their first year or so in the game.

Still claiming 3kg, Swaffer got her first taste of carnival success in the lucky last on Friday on her home track, lifting Rowe’s Salesman in the Class 5 Handicap (1500m).

The 21-year-old, right, was greeted by some large cheers from the grandstand as she returned to scale following the two-and-a-half length victory on the talented, but inconsistent Salesman.

“It is great, the horse ran a super race and I could not be happier,” Swaffer said. “It is awesome to get a winner like this on Cairns Cup Day.”

Swaffer and her older brother Braydn alternate riding Salesman — a locally owned seven-year-old bay gelding — in work, with Trevor’s son Peter declaring he is a “pest” to ride in the mornings.

It was also special for the Rowe stable to finish the Cup Day with a winner after Trevor was sent home with a bad back midway through the card.

“Arms Race decided to be a circus pony down at the tie-up stalls and Dad got jammed up against the fence,” stable representative Peter Rowe said.

“His back was pretty ordinary, so we sent him home during the races and the winner in the last will put a smile on his face.”

Racing in the north heads to Mareeba Turf Club this Saturday for the running of their 2020 Mareeba Cup Benchmark 65 Handicap (2000m) worth $10,000.

Meanwhile, Jake Bayliss earned himself a suspension for a whip infringement at Cairns on Friday.

Bayliss was suspended for seven days for using the whip 17 times in a race at Cairns.

His one mount, Fred’s Gift for local trainer Mark Dale, ran an excellent race, finishing fourth in the Class 2 Plate (1250m).