Arc Light at long odds

PRIZEMONEY may be lacking in Queensland racing but when you have a $101 winner it can help ease the pain.

Brisbane trainer Barry Baldwin celebrated the upset of the 2018-19 racing season so far on Saturday at the Gold Coast when Arc Light won the Fillies and Mares Maiden Plate (1200m) with jockey Matthew Gray on board.

Arc Light was going at $101 at the jump and Baldwin said he even backed the four-yearold mare when she was at $126 earlier in the day.

Unfortunately part-owner Matt McNally didn’t lay a cent on.

Arc Light arrived at Baldwin’s Eagle Farm’s stables three months ago with a horrid record.

The mare had raced three times between November and December last year, finishing eighth, 11th and 12th, before going to the paddock.

Baldwin said Arc Light was an anxious horse when she arrived at his stables but he said his old-school training habits and his desire not to rush her to the races had paid off.

“It’s been a great turnaround,” Baldwin said.

“I’m a bit old-school in a sense and I think it has paid off. I gave her three months of work before her run.”

Baldwin said he was confident Arc Light was a chance on the heavy track at Aquis Park after watching her perform in jump outs on the dirt at Eagle Farm in recent months.