Tutelage on track for tilt on Cup day
TOLGA trainer Janel Ryan is optimistic about what improving stayer Tutelage can produce at this year’s carnivals after a booming win at Cannon Park on Tuesday.
The four-year-old gelding refused to give up in the Magic Millions Rob Koch Memorial Far North Queensland Up and Coming Stayers Series final, arriving in the shadow of the post with a lunge at Guangzhou to snatch victory in the Benchmark 70 Handicap – and secure the series’ top trainer gong for Ryan.
“We won a big race at the Cairns annuals last year – we
won a couple leading up to that as well – and (husband and stable representative) Ronnie always said he’d probably make a Cup horse this year,” Ryan said.
“I would have liked to have given him a mile (1600m) race going into that, but it just goes to show the class of horse that he actually is, coming from 1400m straight into a 2100m race.”
As well as scoring a $2000 cash bonus as the series’ winning trainer, courtesy of the Cairns Jockey Club, Ryan will have the choice of attending the Magic Millions’ 2YOs In Training Sale this November, or the Gold Coast March Yearling Sale
early next year.
“We’ll probably leave it up to the owners. They’ll probably want to go down next March but it doesn’t bother me; either one would be nice,” Ryan said.
“I never gave it another thought until they presented us with this travel voucher to go down to the Magic Millions; maybe we’ll just go down there and have a sticky beak. That would be nice.”
Ponderoso, trained by Sharlee D’Avila, took out the series’ horse category, while Lacey Morrison was awarded the top jockey.
Mareeba Turf Club will host a five-race non-TAB meeting this Saturday.