Arnold makes a top start
ICONIC Territory trainer Sheila Arnold kicked off her latest Top End venture on the right note when Quantum Dot scored a convincing win in the Campaign Edge Handicap at Fannie Bay yesterday.
Arnold and husband Keith have been making Darwin home during the months of May-September for many years, and have brought four horses with them for this year’s Carnival, which gets underway on July 6.
After Windsor Cup just went down earlier in the day, Quantum Dot got the campaign off on the right foot with a dominant win in the 1300m event.
Beautifully ridden by Jarrod Todd, Quantum Dot trailed the pacemaking favourite Kaptan Apollo throughout, and when that runner hung off the inside fence around the home turn, Todd was through in a flash.
The seven-year-old gelding scored by almost three lengths from Gracious Prospect.
Kaptan Apollo had an excuse for his lacklustre fifth – he returned to scale with his saddle twisted almost upside down straight out of the gates.
Arnold was delighted with Quantum Dot’s win.
“He’s a funny old horse, you can’t work him, and we’ve only swum him since we arrived earlier this week. But he’s fit, 1300m is probably his best trip, and there’ll be plenty of races for him over the next couple of months,” she said.
Todd made it a race-torace double when guiding Looking For You to a fivelength win in the 10 Darwin Handicap.
Trained by Phil Cole, Looking For You shared the lead with Son Of A Fling to the home turn, but quickly put the issue beyond doubt, bounding clear to beat Remodify. The consistent four-year-old has now won three of his 13 starts.
Sonja Wiseman bagged her first Top End double courtesy of Gogoldcoast (Seppelts Handicap) and Daisley (MJS Floor Coverings Handicap).
Gogoldcoast, a son of All Too Hard, raced outside the lead before taking over on the point of the home turn and racing clear to win impressively. His stablemate Lots Of Coin rattled home to provide popular trainer John Peacock with a quinella.
Daisley, trained by Kerry Petrick, gained a deserved victory when getting up close to down Divisional by a halfhead in the day’s opener.
Karmonaaron continued on his winning way when getting in the deciding stride to score in the National Jockeys Trust Handicap.
Garry Lefoe Jr’s four-yearold son of Dane Shadow, chasing a hat-trick of wins, tracked the pacemakers throughout and was angled into the clear by rider Paul Shiers soon after straightening for home.
Short-priced favourite Patriot Day (Gary Clarke/Kim Gladwin) was a class above his rivals when winning the Cancer Council NT Handicap (1100m).