Coast charge chasing redemption
A LOSS to fellow Australian Ken Cavrak in the final of the Queensland Junior Championships is fuelling the charge of Varsity Lakes’ Alexander Crnokrak at this week’s Gold Coast Junior International.
Fresh off 4-6, 2-6 defeat to Cavrak at Tennyson on Sunday, Crnokrak yesterday opened his campaign at the ITF Grade 4 event at Burleigh Waters’ Albert Junior Tennis Centre with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Northern Territory’s Peter Politis.
The 18-year-old, who reached the second round of
the Australian Open Juniors in January, was forced to go through qualifying at both tournaments after missing the entry deadline.
However, with three comfortable wins under his belt, he believes he can challenge the likes of Cavrak (third seed), Malaysia’s Christian Didier (second seed) and Dane Sweeny (top seed) for a breakthrough title on his home turf.
“I’ve played heaps of matches so I have a lot of confidence going into this week,” Crnokrak, who will take on China’s Jin Gu in the second round today, said.
“Last week in Brisbane … I made the final and I had a pretty good week. I’ve made the finals in one of these (Grade 4) tournaments before so I knew I could do it, it just had to work out so that was good.
“I haven’t played many junior tournaments this year, I’ve been playing more Futures tournaments. There’s four Futures tournaments coming up (from September), so I’ll play them.
“Hopefully I can get an ATP ranking and get as close to the top 100 as I can.”
Crnokrak, who has a career-high combined junior ITF ranking of 231, adds to the growing list of Coast talent able to nominate for the Bulletin’s Local Sports Star awards. The Bulletin is on the lookout for kids who love their sport, great teams and the awesome coaches and volunteers who make it all possible.
TOBY Edmonds has trained more than 100 winners this season but few have given him as much pleasure as talented mare Linlithgow at the Gold Coast.
Edmonds has put a lot of time into the four-year-old mare who scored her second win from just three starts in a Class 3 Handicap (900m) at Aquis Park yesterday.
It was Linlithgow’s first run in 14 months but she proved too strong after jumping to the lead.
“As a young horse, the start to her career was delayed when she got tangled up in a fence,” Edmonds said.
“Since then it has just been a series of niggling problems which have hampered her.
“But we were able to get her ready with a trial and a jump-out. She is handy and should go on from here.”
Edmonds brought up a winning double on his home track when former Sydneytrained On The Spot won the Class 5 Handicap (1200m).
Edmonds said he had no doubt On The Spot would measure up to Saturday class in Brisbane.
Ryan Plumb, the leading jockey on the Gold Coast this season, continued his run of success with trainer Les Kelly when Elixir ($5.50) led all the way to win the 2YO Handicap (900m).
Elixir, who is by top sire Exceed And Excel, originally cost $280,000 as a yearling at the Magic Millions sales and had four trials when trained by Peter and Paul Snowden in Sydney.
“We bought him before he had a start and gave him one trial which he won. He might be pretty smart,” Kelly said.
Tony Gollan has broken his own record for the number of winners by a trainer in a Queensland metropolitan season with three meetings to spare.
Gollan set the record at 86.5 in 2015/16 and Daring Deeds’ win at the Gold Coast yesterday was his 87th metropolitan win for this season.
It was his 131st winner on all tracks and puts the icing on Gollan’s fifth straight metropolitan premiership.
“I am really happy with breaking the record. At the start of the year I wasn’t expecting it but it has been a great team effort,” he said.
“It was also a great feeling to break the record with a horse owned by Linda and Graham Huddy who have been terrific supporters.”
Daring Deeds went against the leaders’ bias of the day when he came from near last to win out wide. It was jockey Brad Stewart’s sixth win from his last seven rides.
“At his best there is no better rider,” Gollan said.
WE BOUGHT HIM BEFORE HE HAD A START AND GAVE HIM ONE TRIAL WHICH HE WON. HE MIGHT BE PRETTY SMART ELIXIR’S TRAINER LES KELLY