Currie’s 100 milestone
Gold Coast features next target
RACING: With a century of season wins already tucked away in his kit bag, Toowoomba trainer Ben Currie turns his sights to a new set of targets this weekend.
The Currie stable clicked over to 100 wins after 71⁄2 months of the 2017-18 racing year with the victory of Apoloboom at Doomben on Wednesday.
Twenty of those wins have come in Brisbane with 78 on a variety of South East Queensland tracks and two in northern New South Wales.
With the beginning of Queensland’s Winter Carnival launching at Clifford Park in three weeks time, Currie switches to feature mode tomorrow at the Gold Coast.
Currie’s five coast runners include 2016 Toowoomba Cup winner Honey Toast, QTIS Two-Year-Old Jewel (1200m) candidate Mishani Hustler and Boomwaa in the Listed Goldmarket (1200m).
Mishani Hustler steps to tomorrow’s $260,000 assignment after impressing in his debut win at Doomben last month where he downed promising Toowoomba filly Plumaro.
The two horses clash again in tomorrow’s race where prepost bookmakers are anticipating the pair will fight out the finish again.
Plumaro is the $2.50 early favourite with Uni Bet while Mishani Hustler was a $5.50 chance yesterday.
“I have plenty of respect for Plumaro, but I wouldn’t be trading our horse with anything else in the race,” Currie said yesterday.
“You don’t often see them do what he was able to do first-up in town.
“My little concern might be a soft track, but I think the weather forecast might be positive for drying conditions.”
Wet weather and a washedout race have hindered Honey Toast’s return to racing after a break of more than 18 months but Currie is confident of still having him match ready for a second Toowoomba Cup (2000m) tilt at Clifford Park on April 7.
He lines up in tomorrow’s Gold Coast Stakes (1800m) at his third run back.
“The weather has played a bit of havoc with his comeback plans but the Toowoomba Cup is still definitely a target for him,” Currie said.
“I thought his two runs back have been good.
“We’ll see how he come through Saturday first before we finalise a possible cup path for him, but we’ve got a few options.”
Currie also lines up with five runners on tomorrow’s Toowoomba card.
The Clifford Park meeting has extended to eight events with the 1210-metre maiden split into two divisions.
■ COUNTRY racing tomorrow includes Roma Picnic Race Club’s annual Bassett Park meeting with five races starting at 1.30pm.