Brambles, part-owned by the Dooner Armidale Racing Syndicate (managed by retailer Eris Dooner), scored a scintillating all-the-way win in the Group 1 Queensland Derby at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Jockey Brad Rawiller took the wide barrier out of the equation when took the son of Savabeel straight to the front and Brambles simply ran his rivals off their legs.
“It’s sensational,” Dooner told local media. “It’s still hard to believe. It’s been massive enjoyment for me.
“My greatest enjoyment has always been winning the Armidale Cup with So Torrid and Keith (the late Keith Swan) back in 1987.
“I’ll always treasure that but this has been such an enormous run for me. And Pete’s (trainer Peter Moody) such a good bloke too, still a bush bloke.”
No doubt connections are licking their lips at the prospect of Brambles contesting races like the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup in the spring.
The Melbourne Cup may be beyond Brambles with the dominance of overseas stayers in recent years, but he certainly looks an ideal Caulfield Cup type.
That ability to race on the speed is a big advantage in racing.
Congratulations to local syndicate members Eris and his sons Tony, Thomas and Daniel, as well as his grandson Nicholas and businessmen Bill Miller and Kevin Dupé.
I know from personal experience that a few of the syndicate members can party hard.
“The party was pretty good,” Eris said. “We had everyone bar my eldest daughter Tracey there in Brisbane and we celebrated well. We kept playing the tape over and over again.”
They certainly know how to enjoy a win. And good on ‘em.
A thrilling Interject-ion
Sam Ducat and his fellow members of the Easy As Syndicate got a big thrill out of the performance of Interject at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Interject ran a huge race at big odds, hitting the front at the 200m mark but wilted over the final stages to finish 11th.
Back to an easier grade and a slightly shorter journey, it seems that another win for Interject won’t be far away.
Prime Caviar viewing
Racing fans without access to pay television will be able to see Black Caviar’s international debut at Royal Ascot on free-to-air television.
Prime TV has announced it will be showing the final day of the five-day Royal Ascot extravaganza live next Saturday.
The coverage will be hosted by Bruce McAvanay and is expected to begin around midnight.
While it will be a late night, the pomp and ceremony of Royal Ascot is something to behold and well worth the effort to stay up late.
Besides it will be good practise for the Olympics, which begin in London next month.
Rhodonite wins for Selby
Trainer Lea Selby kept the local flag flying with the win of Rhodonite at Gunnedah on Saturday.
Rhodonite has been a consistent earner for Selby since she took over the training of the Zabeel gelding in 2010, winning five races and being placed on numerous occasions.
A final Receipt run
FormeR trainer Keith Hiscox reports that his old war-horse Derivative Receipt has been retired.
Derivative Receipt completed his racing career with a race record of nine wins and 15 placings from 49 starts, earning $203,280 in prizemoney for
connections.
“Winning over $200,000 in prizemoney for a country-trained horse is pretty good,” Hiscox said.
“He suffered an injury in his last start at Canterbury and he’s a nine-year-old now, so it was thought best to retire him.”
Derivative Receipt was ridden by popular local jockey Geoff Snowden in six of the wins, including victories in the 2007 Coffs Harbour Cup and a popular home-town win in the 2010 Armidale Cup.
Derivative Receipt was trained by Leon Davies at Tamworth for his final preparation and was able to win a benchmark 70 race at Tamworth. He was placed in the 2012 Mornington Handicap.
Greg Polson reports for Racenet.com.au and Radio Sport National. Email:
gpolson@internode.on.net.
