Nozi arrives in Thyme
RACING:
Nozi Tomizawa was at his brilliant best to kick the Clifford Park card off on Saturday night.
As the general public was allowed into the gates for the first time since the COVID regulations were introduced, the Japanese-born hoop gave them a warm welcome back.
Aboard It’s Thyme ($13) in the Audi Centre Toowoomba Class 3 Handicap (1850m), Tomizawa was happy to play the waiting game.
He peeled the Kerry Baumann-trained eight-year-old out approaching the 600m mark.
It proved to be the winning move, with It’s Thyme too strong over the concluding stages, scoring by a neat length from Octavian ($5).
Local trainers swept both divisions of the QTIS TwoYears-Old Maiden Plate (870m) events on the program.
In the first edition, Simply Fly ($2.90 fav) justified the support from punters with a dominant 1 ½ length victory for trainer Rex Lipp.
The Spirit Of Boom colt settled worse than midfield, with Blue Harmony ($4.40) opening up a handy lead on the turn.
Simply Fly, under a navigating ride from Kenji Yoshida, hit the line with authority to score with ease from the race leader.
Kevin Kemp had plenty of reason to smile as his juvenile Best To Hurry ($5) took out the second division of the race, giving Tomizawa a double in the process.
The gelding took a midfield spot with race favourite Jim’s Princess ($2.30) taking up the ascendancy over the sprint trip.
However as the punter’s pick found little, Best To Hurry launched with a surging burst in the straight to score by a long neck from Frisco’s Image ($19), with a further 2 ¼ lengths back to third.
Lindsay Hatch took out training honours on the card with a double.
It started with Last Edition ($6.50) scoring by a long neck in the TAB Class 1 Handicap (1200m), with Rhyme Time ($5) getting the job done in the Hygain QTIS Three-YearsOld Maiden Plate (1200m).
# BOOM two-year-old Kisukano showed she is back with a vengeance after a dominant showing in the Bruce McLachlan Classic (1000m) at the Sunshine Coast.
The QTIS Jewel winning filly was set a task first-up with 60.5kg and a heavy track to contend with.
Neither proved an issue, with Kisukano ($2.40 fav) putting the field away once Mark Du Plessis pushed the button, racing away to score by 2 ¾ lengths.
Nolan said to The Chronicle prior to the event that options in Sydney would be considered if she were to be successful at the weekend, with the filly expected to climb further up in the weights.
Prometheus ($3.80) has been a model of consistency since joining the Tony and Maddysen Sears camp, and the former Sydneysider brought up his second win for the preparation.
The six-year-old edged out Zaunkonig ($5) by the barest of margins in the Class 6 Handicap (1600m).
sean.teuma@thechronicle.com.au