Rockhampton trainer Nick Walsh hellbent on winning The Archer trophy for the locals
Rockhampton trainer Nick Walsh is hellbent on keeping The Archer trophy in Australia's beef capital as he prepares his gun sprinter Hell for his 'grand final' on Sunday.
Walsh believes there are four genuine chances in the $1m slot race over 1300m in TAB's equal favourites Transatlantic and Iowna Merc (both $4), Sandpaper ($4.80) and his four-year-old gelding Hell ($7.50).
And in a massive boost for Walsh's hopes, he has secured the services of Rockhampton product and Brisbane's leading jockey in the metro premiership race, Emily Lang, to ride Hell from barrier nine in the hunt for the $565,000 winner's cheque.
'She's ridden this track since she was pretty young so she definitely knows it well,' Walsh said.
'She knows the horse better than anyone too so I'm really happy about her being on.
'We could've drawn a bit softer but the barrier wasn't a major concern with the way his racing pattern is.'
Brisbane's premier trainer Tony Gollan has been vocal about his Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap hopes for Transatlantic but for Walsh, this is Hell's grand final.
'I think he's a great chance, I really do,' said Walsh, who turns 27 later this month.
'I think he's a genuine top-four chance and there are probably four chances in the race.
'Out of those four chances there are a couple of question marks.
'Transatlantic is first-up at 1300m and getting set for the Stradbroke so this isn't his grand-final day, although he'll be wound up enough.
'Then you've got the likes of (Bjorn Baker's southern raiders) Iowna Merc and Sandpaper that haven't been set for the race at all.
'The slot-owners have rung up a couple of weeks ago so it's like 'we'll throw them on the truck and bring them up' (to Rockhampton).
'Tony (Gollan) talks about the Stradbroke for Transatlantic, well this is the grand final for my horse. We're hitting it third-up and he peaks at his third-up run.'
Hell is just too good for them at Doomben - and that's his 4th win in a row! @BrisRacingClub pic.twitter.com/tNDknmRkHv
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) November 9, 2024
The Ricky Vale-trained Rockhampton gelding Namazu won The Archer last year at juicy odds of $16 and Walsh is desperate to keep the trophy in the city in his first attempt at the rich slot race.
'It was won by a local horse last year whose form probably wasn't good enough to win the race,' Walsh said.
'To be able to be done a second time would prove a bit of a point that maybe horses don't travel so well from Sydney or aren't 100 per cent set for the race.
'It'd be a great achievement to win because it's the greatest race we have in Rocky now. It's probably bigger than the (Rockhampton) Newmarket and the cup.'
Walsh sees Transatlantic and Sandpaper as the biggest threats to his Archer dream becoming reality.
'They're both drawn soft (barriers two and three) and should get a lovely run,' he said.
'If Sandpaper can travel up well from Sydney then he's definitely one of the main dangers.'
Lang rode Hell to third place in the sprinter's last start, a 1200m open handicap at Eagle Farm in early April, with the winner Compelling Truth franking the form with victory in Thursday's $200,000 Wagga Town Plate (1200m).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
8 hours ago
- News.com.au
Post-race jockey reports from the 2025 Kingsford Smith Cup
Champion jockey James McDonald timed his run to perfection aboard Joliestar in the $1 million Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday. The Chris Waller-trained mare came from well back in the field to claim the weight-for-age feature in the final stride. Joliestar defeated Zarastro by a nose with a similar margin back to Golden Mile in third. An EPIC finish in the G1 Kingsford Smith Cup sees Joliestar nab them right on the line to take her third Group 1! 🤩 @cwallerracing @mcacajamez @BrisRacingClub @RaceQLD — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 7, 2025 The win was Joliestar's sixth from 15 starts, her third at Group 1 level, and took her earnings to more than $4.5 million. Waller indicated he would discuss Joliestar's immediate with her owners but while holding a nomination for next week's Stradbroke Handicap, the likelihood is the four-year-old will head to the paddock to begin her preparation for the $20 million The Everest in October. This is what the riders thought of their mount's performance in the Kingsford Smith Cup. â– â– â– â– â– 1st - JOLIESTAR (James McDonald) She wasn't entitled to win, but that's how good she is. When I looked up at the 600m I thought I was OK, then I got on my bike but as soon as I did that, the pace quickened and the margin went from five lengths turning for home to seven lengths. It just didn't feel like I was making ground. I was lucky I was on a proper horse, even though she didn't like the ground at Eagle Farm today. 2nd - ZARASTRO (Angela Jones) So gutsy. He was all the way there, he was there to the last stride. Very proud. 3rd - GOLDEN MILE (Jason Collett) Good performance. Positioned himself well from the gate and still there at the finish. Happy. 4th - KIMOCHI (Craig Williams) She was really good and solid. Gave me a lovely ride throughout, the leaders got a break and we had to chase them down and she stuck to the task really well. 5th - RISE AT DAWN (Ethan Brown) He found them a bit sharp off the bridle but he ran really well. He blew out a bit late but up in trip is going to suit him and I think he's come up really well this prep. 6th - GIGA KICK (Mark Zahra) Joliestar had a bit more tactical speed than us early so I came back and followed her. We gave them a big start but I probably would have liked him to finish off a bit better, like the winner. 7th - BENEDETTA (Tim Clark) She had a good run, it worked out beautifully. Just felt she lost a bit of confidence around the bend on that shifty ground and she has done a bit of racing this preparation so she may have just come to the end of it. 8th - LIBERTAD (Jamie Mott) A little bit below his best today. He had a perfect run but just found he wasn't at his best. 9th - PAYLINE (Tommy Berry) He gave himself a real good whack out of the gates and never felt great after that.
7NEWS
9 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Master trainer Chris Waller breaks own Group 1 record with Joliestar winning at Eagle Farm
Chris Waller has broken his own record for most number of Group 1 wins in a season with Joliestar arriving in the final bounds to post a thrilling victory in the Kingsford Smith Cup at Eagle Farm. The mare's success gave the champion trainer his 19th triumph at the elite level this term, eclipsing the 18 Group 1s he claimed during the 2018-19 season, seven of those delivered by the incomparable Winx. This term it has been another outstanding mare in Via Sistina who has helped boost Waller's strikerate by contributing seven of his 19 top-level victories. But on Saturday, the afternoon belonged to Joliestar. Starting a $2.40 favourite, the four-year-old settled worse than midfield and had her work cut out at the top of the straight when leaders Zarastro and Golden Mile skipped well clear, jockey James Mcdonald admitting even he thought she faced an impossible task. 'There was not one stage where I thought she was going to win the race,' McDonald said. 'Then she put in this humungous dive with two strides to go and I thought, I'm a little chance here and I looked up and saw the camera man. She is a super mare.' Joliestar's victory has taken her record to six wins from 15 starts and Waller says it could arguably read even better if not for bad luck. He confirmed he would consult the mare's owners about a second shot at the $20 million Everest after she flashed home late in the race last year when shuffled back to near-last. 'It was a mission that we missed out on last spring so we will have a chat about it,' Waller said. 'She is a lovely horse. She's got a great record. She did it at three, she has won a Newmarket and had a lot of bad luck along the way. 'She is a pleasure to be training. The stable at the Gold Coast call her 'the Queen' so we will run with that. She is the Queen of Queensland today, anyway.' In a three-way tussle to the line, Joliestar ($2.40 fav) edged out local hope Zarastro ($17) with Golden Mile ($26) third. Second favourite Giga Kick ($3.80) got a long way out of his ground and finished sixth.
News.com.au
10 hours ago
- News.com.au
Joliestar arrives in the last hop in the Kingsford Smith Cup
Champion jockey James McDonald timed his run to perfection aboard Joliestar in the $1 million Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday. The Chris Waller-trained mare came from well back in the field to claim the weight-for-age feature in the final stride. Joliestar defeated Zarastro by a nose with a similar margin back to Golden Mile in third. An EPIC finish in the G1 Kingsford Smith Cup sees Joliestar nab them right on the line to take her third Group 1! 🤩 @cwallerracing @mcacajamez @BrisRacingClub @RaceQLD — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 7, 2025 The win was Joliestar's sixth from 15 starts, her third at Group 1 level, and took her earnings to more than $4.5 million. Waller indicated he would discuss Joliestar's immediate with her owners but while holding a nomination for next week's Stradbroke Handicap, the likelihood is the four-year-old will head to the paddock to begin her preparation for the $20 million The Everest in October.
