Travistee’s staying under notice for NZ
CALOUNDRA trainer Paul Jenkins is considering taking improved staying mare Travistee to New Zealand to chase more black-type success.
In the space of seven weeks, Travistee has gone from winning the Gatton Cup to being a last-start third in the Listed Caloundra Cup (2400m).
Travistee was second in the Provincial Stayers Cup (2500m) at Ipswich and fifth in the Group 3 Tatt’s Cup (3000m) between those runs.
She now looms as the local hope to break the domination of the southern stables in the Listed $200,000 Queensland Cup (3200m) at Eagle Farm tomorrow.
Only two Queenslandtrained horses have won the Cup in the past 20 years.
It’s the only 3200m race in Queensland although there is a suggestion it may be shortened to 2400m and switched back to the spring if the Brisbane Cup returns to 3200m.
Whether that happens is of no concern to Jenkins who has carefully mapped out a
genuine staying campaign for Travistee. The trainer has always believed the mare would get better with age and longer distances.
Jenkins won many staying feature races in his native New Zealand with his best horse Bazelle who won the 2005 Group 1 Auckland Cup.
His best winner in Queensland has been King Keitel in the 2001 Group 1 Doomben Cup.
Jenkins has rarely had more than half a dozen horses in work since he moved permanently to the Sunshine Coast in 2012.
But he has had plenty of success with 13 winners this season from just 71 runners.
Jenkins part-owns Travistee and is keen to get as much black-type for the mare as possible.
“She won’t be going to stud this year as she really has only just got up to competing in decent class,” Jenkins said.
“She carries plenty of Montjeu blood so she will stay all day.
“There isn’t a lot for her around here after Saturday. I have in the back of my mind that I give her a month’s break and then take her to New Zealand chasing some black-type in some of the distance races.”