Tyzone up for big test
AFTER tossing up a Sydney tilt, the Tolga Tornado, Tyzone, will push on to tomorrow’s $150,000 Listed Toowoomba Weetwood Handicap.
Trainer Toby Edmonds was cautious of sending the fiveyear-old Far North star to Toowoomba with a heavy weight on his back and considered Sydney’s Hall Mark Stakes as an alternative.
After discussions with connections, the gelding will now tackle the 1200m Weetwood second-up with 58.5kg.
Tyzone drew awkwardly at the barrier draw on Wednesday, 10, with top-weights Cellarman and Sovereign Nation drawing perfectly in three and one respectively.
“It is a tough task to go up there to Toowoomba with a big weight,” Edmonds said before the barrier draw.
The former Tablelandsbased gelding claimed his first Listed race late last month first-up, diving late to win the Tab Goldmarket (1200m) on the Gold Coast.
Edmonds considered the Group 3 Hall Mark Stakes over 1200m at Randwick in Sydney later this month as Tyzone’s next step, instead of tomorrow’s Weetwood.
“We were thinking about trying to get a couple of kgs weight relief more than anything,” Edmonds said.
“I think the big track at Randwick would suit him as well.
“He has been in good form and he will get a chance in a good race if we had gone that way.”
Apprentice jockey Jag Guthmann-Chester regains the ride of Tyzone tomorrow after Ryan Plumb was the pilot last month.
Saturday’s meeting, which also features the Toowoomba Cup and Guineas, also doubles as the start of the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival.
Meanwhile, tomorrow’s eight-race program at Cairns’ Cannon Park is still a chance to go ahead, despite the heavy rain this week.
“We have had around 100mm in the last 24 hours at the track,” Cairns Jockey Club general manager John Cameron said yesterday.
“The track is safe to race on but it will be about how much surface water there is.”
Queensland Racing Integrity Commission stewards are expected to inspect the track today.
The track is rated as a Heavy 10.