Lady Skills aims for Cup
JENSEN trainer Michael Geaney has just two horses in work in his stable. Just one is race ready.
But the emerging 30- year- old will have a shot at winning the Townsville Cup late next month after Lady Skills overcame adversity to win a thrilling North Queensland Cup by a half head at Cluden Park yesterday.
Sent out a $ 2.10 favourite, the mare flew home from the back of the field on the outside of the track to pip out Vaunting ($ 21) and Bold Avenue ($ 26) in the $ 20,000 Open category feature.
It was the stuff of dreams for 30year- old Geaney, who will take Lady Skills to the Mackay Cup ( 1800m) in a couple of weeks before a probable crack at the Townsville Cup ( 2000m) on July 28.
Geaney accelerated her progression through the grades after she won at just her second race over the mile distance at Cluden Park on June 19.
He was most pleased with the resilience she showed after little went according to plan in running yesterday.
“She got bumped around a little bit and when she made a run they all stood out in front of her and made life hard,” Geaney said.
“But she really knuckled down over that last 200 and really wound them in.
“It wasn’t that long ago she was a Class 3 mare and now she’s just taking on the Open class horses and getting ready for the carnival. I’m very proud of her efforts today.”
Geaney said barring an unforeseen mishap, the four- year- old would aim at the Townsville Cup, and her strong recent finishes meant he was confident she could handle the trip.
“We’ll see how she pulls up and all going well we’ll tackle the Mackay Cup first in a couple of weeks and then bring her back toward the end of July for the Townsville Cup ( on July 28), unless I find something wrong with her. We might find something else to give her that run in between, but Townsville Cup is right on the radar.
“I was going to steady through her just take her classes, but it wasn’t until 10 days ago when she backed up and won that mile that we thought we’d have a crack at today’s race to get a crack at the big smoke,” Geaney said.
“We can put our full focus on Lady Skills throughout the carnival.”