Winter plans still undecided
Weetwood winner in carnival wait
RACING: The emergence of Toowoomba gelding Amanaat in Queensland’s sprinting ranks has left connections with a welcome “problem” as the Queensland Winter Carnival begins to take shape. Where to next?
That’s the question Ben Currie has been left to answer after Amanaat steam-rolled a quality field at Clifford Park last Saturday on his way to a commanding Listed Weetwood Handicap (1200m) win.
It was the four-year-old’s seventh victory from nine starts for Currie after transferring from Victoria to Queensland late last year, and by far his most impressive.
The home-track feature win capped a successful day for the Currie stable which also took out the Toowoomba Guineas with Hang and finished narrow seconds with two-year-old debutant Cuddle Me Tight and Toowoomba Cup warrior Honey Toast.
“They all pulled up well, but we’ll let the dust settle a bit before we work out our next moves with them,” Currie said yesterday.
“I don’t know where we’ll be heading with Amanaat now he’s proven himself around that Listed level.
“He’ll definitely be going on in the carnival.
“There’s plenty of Listed races around, so we’ll try and work out the best path for him.
“We keep raising the bar for him but we still don’t know how high he can jump.
“I spoke with Bobby (El-Issa jockey) about him maybe getting out a bit more in distance and he thinks he’ll handle it okay.”
Currie said Honey Toast is headed for a short break while he also plots his next move for Queensland Derby prospect Hang and Cuddle Me Tight.
“It was always the plan to give Honey Toast a week or two off and we might look at races like the Ipswich and Caloundra cups with him, later in the carnival,” Currie said.
“We put 12 months into getting him ready for the Toowoomba Cup and it was a bit heart-breaking to see him just beaten like that.
“But he showed us that he’s come back good to racing.
“We are sort of in the same boat with Hang as Amanaat.
“We want to try and get him to the Derby but it’s still a fair way off (June 9) and we haven’t finalised a plan for him yet.
“I thought the two-year-old (Cuddle Me Tight) raced really well on Saturday.
“Things didn’t go perfectly for her but she was only beaten a nose by a smart horse and they ran really good time.”
The Ipswich and Caloundra cups have also been earmarked for Toowoomba six-year-old Jumbo Prince after his sizzling run from last into third place in Saturday’s Weetwood.
Last year’s Weetwood deadheater and Ipswich Cup placegetter again underlined his versatility on Saturday as he prepares for the step up to the 1600 metres of Saturday week’s Tails Handicap at Doomben.
‘He spent six months out getting over a knee problem and strengthened up in that time which might be benefiting him now,” Nolan said
“He’s remarkable in the way he can sprint at the start of a prep and at the same time be such a good stayer.
“His main aim over the winter will be races like the Ipswich and Caloundra cups.”
Photo: Nev Madsen