Clash of the titans
TWO of the great exports of Far North racing will face off for the first time on Saturday, though Tyzone and The Harrovian enter the Sunshine Coast Cup with very different form lines and expectation.
The Tom Hedley-owned duo have captured the hearts and minds of the racing public in recent years, but they will be the topweights in the $130,000 feature.
It is the first time the Hedley-owned duo have faced off, though the state of the track could also scupper that plan.
Both have left an indelible mark on racing in North Queensland, but only one of the two will fill Hedley’s $35,000 slot in The Archer at Rockhampton later this year.
Tyzone led off, racing - and dominating - primarily at Townsville’s Cluden Park for Tolga trainer Roy Chillemi, racking up five wins from his first seven starts in north Queensland.
He was sent to Toby Edmonds’s Gold Coast stable in 2018, and has put together several strong performances and wins - in the years since.
The most notable were his performances in the Stradbroke, running second in 2019 before storming back to win the same race a year later.
But he hasn’t won since. Recently, the “Tolga Tornado” has had his own troubles as he battled soreness.
He spent several months in Chillemi’s paddock last year as he recovered, and since his return to the
Edmonds’ Gold Coast stable he hasn’t exactly set the world on fire.
He ran 11th of 13 starters at the Gold Coast in his only official start on January 8, his first race in just more than a year, and his future is very much clouded. Hedley won’t run him at the Sunshine Coast if the track is slow, not willing to risk a horse which has won $1.3 million in prizemoney lugged with 60.5kg.
The Harrovian, meanwhile, could be on another run to the All Star Mile if the stars align.
While his form hasn’t quite been the same as it was 12 months ago, when the gelding dubbed the “King of the North” stormed into the rich mile race as the only representative from Queensland, The Harrovian is still the horse which demands attention.
This is the horse which won 11 straight, and 14 of 16, starts in 2019-20, which included his domination of Cannon Park, Cluden Park and wins at both Doomben and Eagle Farm.
All but two of those wins came while running for Stephen Massingham in Cairns, during which he won the Northern Crowns Bonus following wins in the Cairns Cup, Townsville Cup and FNQ Amateurs Cup.
He, too, has been without luck in more than 12 months, his last win coming at Eagle Farm on Boxing Day, 2020, and Hedley said there was a chance this run could determine his targets for the year.
While nominated for this year’s All Star Mile - he sits 26th in voting at time of writing - Hedley said there was a chance he could be targeted for The Archer in Rockhampton.
The Harrovian was rated a $3.90 chance by the TAB (second favourite) on Friday afternoon, with Tyzone a $41 outsider.
The race jumps at 4.32pm.