CAIRNS OWNER TALKS UP TYZONE’S CHANCES IN STRADBROKE

HE’S watched his horses get the chocolates on countless occasions before, but nothing will compare to the sheer ecstasy that will hit Cairns racing identity Tom Hedley if Tyzone gets up in this afternoon’s Stradbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm.

The prolific horse owner, alongside other Far North connections of the Toby Edmonds-trained gelding, travelled to Brisbane yesterday to take up a spot on track for the occasion.

He said it would be the biggest race he has ever had one of his horses run in.

“We’re heading down there to have a fancy chance in the major feature race of Queensland racing through the year,” he said.

“I’ve won a lot of races, but this is the pinnacle of racing in Queensland.”

Despite the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a horse run in the Stradbroke, Hedley said he managed to avoid getting too caught up in the excitement this week.

“It’s funny. I’ve been pretty cool,” he said.

“I’ve been working hard, doing long hours, which has been good for me because I haven’t thought about it too much.

“But the penny’s starting to drop now – I’m getting a bit toey, I can tell you.”

While this will be Tyzone’s biggest test to date, Hedley believed he could be in the mix.

“I was a bit anxious at the barrier draw,” he said. “But then all of a sudden we drew a good barrier and the emergencies were on the inside of us, so that brought us into (barrier) eight.

“That’s a reasonable barrier for him. He’ll get back a bit and he should be given every chance to come down the middle of the track.

“That’s what we’re hoping for.

“He’s never put in a bad run for me and he’s very consistent. Whether he’s up to Group 1 class, only (this afternoon) will tell.”

Hedley said he had been receiving well-wishes from all over the place in the lead-up.

“There’s only one Queenslander in the field and that’s him,” he said.

“It’s good that the whole local racing fraternity and Queensland in general are getting behind him.

“I’ve had a lot of well-wishes over the last week or so with it.

“I haven’t been getting too involved in it because I’ve been busy doing other things, but certainly other people have been following it throughout the place. It’s good to see.”