Sparky chases city win
FAR North electrician John Smith has owned many a horse over the last 15 years but he is yet to crack a winner in town.
The former Cairns Jockey Club president is hoping Arms Race can be the difference maker this afternoon in the inaugural $75,000 Country Cups Challenge Final at Doomben.
Smith, who owns a handful of horses with leading Cairns trainer Trevor Rowe, also has horses with experienced trainers Janel Ryan and Roy Chillemi, collecting many winners around the region but none have ever sent one to Brisbane and collected the chocolates.
Smith, of Babinda Electrics, has been pleasantly surprised with how the four-year-old has adapted to life in the Far North after originally being purchased from New South Wales as a sprinter.
“His best distance will be 2000m and Trevor has freshened him up nicely in the last six weeks since the Innisfail Cup,” Smith said.
“Hopefully he can sprint quite well today.
“I have never had a winner in town before so hopefully this one can be it.”
Rowe, who has been in Brisbane for much of the week with stable hoop Sonja Wiseman, cannot fault Arms Race’s preparation.
“The horse worked well on Wednesday morning and I could not be more happy with him,” Rowe said.
Another Rowe trained horse, Collywobble, was also qualified for the final but was set to be first emergency, so the mare has remained in Cairns.
Collywobble was nominated to race last Saturday at Cannon Park but was scratched and will now go for a spell.
“I scratched her at Cairns to bring her to Brisbane but she was a little crook so she will go out for a spell now,” Rowe said.
The Ryans, Janel and Ronnie, will join Rowe with a hopeful in the final this afternoon.
How Can I Help qualifies for the $75,000 1600m final after running second in the Innisfail Cup to Arms Race in late October.
“We have got nothing to lose sending him so he will go down and stay with Darryl Hansen before the race,” stable representative Ronnie Ryan said. “He got in through the back door.
“I do not know much about the other horses in the race but our one won in Brisbane back in 2015.
“He meets Arms Race at equal weights but at the Innisfail Cup we gave him five kilograms.”