Gallopers in carnival spotlight
RACING: Toowoomba gallopers begin their Queensland Summer Carnival campaigns with a four-pronged attack on today’s Doomben feature.
Queensland’s summer feature racing began last Saturday when the Tony Gollan-trained Most Important took out the Listed Keith Noud Handicap.
The carnival continues through until January 26 when Corbould Park hosts the Sunshine Coast Cup and TwoYear-Old Classic Plate.
Today’s Doomben card is headed by the Listed Recognition Stakes (1350m) and Listed Tattersall’s Classic (1200m) for fillies and mares.
Clifford Park quartet Niccanova, Prioritise, Cantbuybetter and Sold For Song kick off their summer missions in today’s Recognition.
Stablemates Niccanova and Prioritise resume from let-ups for trainer Steve Tregea after ending their last preparations on a high note.
Niccanova resumes after his latest 1350-metre Doomben Handicap win on October 6.
Prioritise returns after a solid Sydney campaign and a string of four successive wins from 1600 to 2000 metres in distance on his return to Queensland.
The five-year-old hasn’t raced since leading all the way over 2020 metres in a Doomben Handicap on September 29.
Both horses can put themselves in possible contention for a $100,000 summer carnival bonus with a forward return showing today.
The bonus is on offer if the winner of the December 29 Bernborough Handicap (1600m) also wins the Villiers Stakes (1600m) at Randwick two weeks earlier.
Tregea said both had helped prepare for their return with pleasing jump-out efforts.
“Everything has fallen into place for them,” Tregea said.
“Niccanova won a jump-out in big shoes, carrying a heavy jockey and that’s probably as good as he’s jumped out.
“We just kept Prioritise on the outside of horses and we were also happy with him.
“There are options coming up in Sydney for him and Bergerac but we’ll wait to see how both him and Niccanova come through tomorrow first.”
Cantbuybetter resumes for trainer Ben Currie today after his latest appearance during the Queensland Winter Carnival when unplaced in the Listed Tatts Mile at Doomben in July.
Sold For Song returns to feature level for trainer Kevin Kemp after showing something like a return to her best last time out when second behind Belflyer in a Sunshine Coast Handicap over 1400 metres.
That followed a brief, unsuccessful Sydney spring stint.
“It was good to see her show something like her best last start,” Kemp said.
“She didn’t perform like she can in her three previous runs, all on shifting tracks.
“I know she’s won on slow ground but maybe she just isn’t handling them at this stage of her career.
“I prefer her racing at the Gold or Sunshine coast as well in preference to Doomben, but you have to take them as they come.
“She’ll have to go back again tomorrow. That’s the only way to ride her but it means she needs things to go her way.
“We’ve got Luke Tarrant back on this week with Jimmy Orman riding Niccanova so we hope she can race well and we’ll maybe try to get her out to a mile from there.”
Tregea is also represented in today’s Tattersall’s Classic by Conquering Lass with fellow Toowoomba mare Rosie Posie also a race starter for trainer Matt Kropp.
“Conquering Lass has really improved since we put the blinkers on her,” Tregea said.
“She is racing more forward now when we thought she was a back marker. She’s 25-1 tomorrow but we’re just hoping she can run a race.”