Rosehill trip a good move
Toowoomba gelding impresses with second place
TOOWOOMBA gelding Fighting Teo justified the decision of trainer Kevin Kemp to target Saturday’s Three-Year-Old Benchmark 73 (2000m) at Rosehill with a bold performance to finish second.
Fighting Teo ($16) closed late from the tail of the field for apprentice James Innes to finish a half-length behind winner Huangshan ($8) from the Chris Waller stable.
Kemp will decide on Monday whether to return Fighting Teo home or extend his Sydney stay.
“At this stage he’s coming home, but we’ll wait and see before making a final decision,” Kemp said.
“We are just so lucky to have a horse we can bring here and have him perform like that.
“He’s beautifully bred and I always thought he’d like a middle-distance trip.
“On saying that I questioned myself on whether coming south was a smart move.
“But I think we found the right race for him and he did a good job after doing a bit of work in the run.
“I’d have been happy to just to see him race well but he might be a nice stayer in the making.
“The trip away I think will benefit him too.”
■ LIGHTLY raced Toowoomba four-year-old Spurcraft added to his exciting winning strike-rate for trainer Charlotte White with a barrier-to-box victory at Doomben on Saturday.
Spurcraft ($1.80 fav) took his record to six wins from nine starts when he held on for a narrow victory over Malvern Estate ($10) in the Class 6 Handicap (1110m) for jockey Les Tilley.
■ CHARLEVILLE gelding Dennis Denuto (13) scored an upset result for trainer Ed Jonson in Saturday’s $30,000 XXXX Gold Race To Roma Final (1640m) at Bassett Park.
Dennis Denuto provided jockey Kenji Yoshida with the second leg of a winning double on the six-race card when he arrived to down Mohaka River (5.50) and Repo Zest (4.80).
Yoshida earlier teamed with Toowoomba trainer Steve Kirkwood to take out the Two and Three-Year-Old Maiden Handicap (1200m) with Tarwyn Blue ($15).