Latest news with #Townsville Cup
The Australian
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Australian
Georgie Holt has high hopes for Tambo's Justice in Townsville Cup
Georgie Holt will love to follow the Jeff Dunn-Rikki Jamieson fairytale script and win a big race as a husband-and-wife trainer-jockey combination, but in this game it's never that simple. Beaudesert trainer Dunn and his wife Jamieson achieved the rare feat on Sha Of Gomer in last month's $200,000 Listed Ramornie Handicap at Grafton. But with Townsville trainer Holt's husband Aidan unable to ride under 57.5kg, it makes the dream much harder to turn into reality. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Holt's rising star Tambo's Justice will run in the $150,000 Townsville Cup (2000m) on Saturday, although apprentice Tahlia Fenlon will take the ride. 'It gets a bit trickier with us because Aidan's very restricted with weight,' Georgie Holt said about the prospect of winning a feature race as a wife-and-husband combination. 'In those bigger races, unless you've got a horse that's highly rated which gets 57.5kg or more, then it does restrict our opportunities, but I'm not saying it's impossible. 'He's spent more time out of the saddle than he has in. That's taken away most of our feature races which he could've ridden in had his weight been suited back then. 'He's got things under control at the moment and hopefully one day we'll be able to snag one together.' Until then, the Holts will be banking on the former Tony Gollan-trained Tambo's Justice adding to his six wins from just eight races when he contests the Townsville Cup at Cluden Park. Trainer Georgie Holt (right) with her jockey husband Aidan and Tambo's Justice, who will be running in Saturday's Townsville Cup. Gollan sent the son of Justify to north Queensland before he had even raced after the gelding was beaten by more than 20 lengths combined in two trials last year and had developed behavioural issues in the barriers. While admitting that 'late bloomer' Tambo's Justice was ordinary in trials, Holt said the galloper's issues with manners were quickly resolved in Townsville. • Race caller shares greatest Townsville Cup highlight 'I'm not saying we're horse whisperers or anything like that, but whatever we did just worked,' she said. 'He's quite a big horse so that can be enough to throw him when he gets in the barriers and feels a bit closed off. 'We went to the races and, touch wood, he hasn't put a foot wrong since.' That's an understatement as Tambo's Justice has been dominant since triumphing in his race debut over 1300m last November. He earned a ticket into the Townsville Cup with victory in the Magnetic Island Mile (1609m) on July 6, with his only flop coming last-start when he finished sixth in the Winter Cup, with the blinkers off, in his first race at 2000m. 'He certainly wasn't disgraced in that run but everyone was expecting him to finish a lot closer,' Holt said of the gelding owned by breeder Dalan Tamblyn. Tambo's Justice in full flight Picture: Grant Peters Photography Holt said sometimes she had a difference of opinion with her husband when mapping out a race but generally the couple worked 'quite well as a team, just staying in our lane and doing what we're good at'. 'We don't really disagree on things but sometimes we have different ideas or think on a different wavelength with horses,' she said. 'I don't give him too many instructions, I don't need to.' • 'We have become a force': Costa extends Dubai 'adventure' The Holts have floated the idea of moving back to Brisbane from Townsville, where they have lived for eight years and Georgie has won two trainers' premierships, but the timing isn't right yet. She said the gruelling travel schedule in the tropics 'kills us', especially with young kids Kai, 6, and Archie, 3, to consider. 'You put them to bed at night and you might not see them again for two days because you've gone to Cairns and back and you're home late and then they've gone to school,' she said 'Generally only one of us will go away to a race meeting. It does get very hard because the next provincial track is four hours' away at a minimum. 'The kids get dragged around too. They might go to Mackay and back with eight horses for the day. It's just the way it's got to go sometimes.'
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Hobby trainer John Dann savours last-to-first Townsville Cup triumph
Toowoomba hobby trainer John Dann produced a Queensland winter carnival wonder and ventured further north to be the king of Townsville on Saturday. Dann's gelding Quothquan stormed home from last to produce a monster win in the $150,000 Townsville Cup, scoring revenge after having a luckless run in the Mackay Cup a fortnight earlier. Quothquan had been trapped wide in the Mackay Cup and Dann feared the six-year-old might have his work cut out again in the Townsville Cup from a double-digit barrier. Former Kiwi hoop Dylan Turner had Quothquan back last, but some of his rivals were speeding along up front and it gave him his chance to swoop over the top of them. Dann only has a handful of horses and he juggles that with operating a successful truck repair and services company which has 100 employees. He has enjoyed a year to remember with his horses, having fairytale mare Adiella score the $500,000 Magic Millions National Classic at Eagle Farm during the winter carnival. Adiella then had a major setback and is now recovering from a nasty staph infection and she will not be seen again at the races until next year. But Quothquan's dominant two-length Townsville Cup romp put a wide smile on Dann's face. 'It wasn't our plan to be that far back,' Dann said. 'But they were cracking along up front and going fast and when he was that far off them, it probably suited him. 'Dylan let him slide and he was doing it under his own steam and he won easily. 'I got Dylan to ride because he has the same manager as Cobi Vitler who I use a bit. 'He rode the horse really well and it was a terrific result for us.' It's Quothquan right down the outside in the 2025 Townsville Cup! ðŸ�† @RaceQLD â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) August 9, 2025 Quothquan started $6.50 and zoomed home over Sir Grace ($8.50) and Smart Legend ($6.50) as $5 favourite Beau Rain finished a disappointing 13th in the 2000m Cup. In the Magic Millions Townsville Guineas QTIS 4YO Handicap (1609m), Smart Mission was strongly backed to be $3.40 favourite but threw it all away at the start when he tried to buck jump. Jockey Lacey Morrison was lucky to stay in the saddle and somehow managed to settle the gelding back in the field but was left with far too much work to do to be a factor in the final stages. Meanwhile, Mackay galloper Obligated ($9.50) unleashed a powerful run in the straight and won easily under jockey Ash Butler. Lyle Wright-trained Obligated had made his name winning over nippy sprint trips, but found the mile of the Guineas was no issue. In the sprint feature, the $100,000 Cleveland Bay, Speed Legend left it until the final strides to get home over the top of Cherry Rose as two of the favoured runners fought out the finish.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Fairytale Queensland mare Adiella recovering from ‘toxic' staph infection
Elite Queensland mare Adiella is recovering from a nasty staph infection and won't be back at the races until next year. Adiella was last seen winning the $500,000 Magic Millions National Classic at Eagle Farm during the Queensland winter carnival and was then set to line up as a fairytale Group 1 Tatt's Tiara contender for her Toowoomba hobby trainer John Dann. But Adiella didn't take her place in the Group 1 as she banged her back leg and suffered bruising and swelling in the week of the race. One thing led to another. 'It turned really toxic ... she got a staph infection in her joint and things weren't good there for a while,' Dann said. 'We are getting her over that infection, we seem to have got on top of it and next week she will go to the paddock for eight weeks. 'The vets are happy enough with her and they say she will race again but that won't be this year.' Meanwhile, Dann is hoping to strike a blow with Quothquan in Saturday's $150,000 Townsville Cup (2000m). Quothquan was one of the leading fancies in the Mackay Cup last month but didn't have any luck and finished fourth. The gelding has drawn barrier 11 in the Townsville Cup and TAB fixed odds has him listed as a $7 chance. 'This horse can't draw a good barrier, so we are hoping there is a bit of speed so he can tuck in somewhere in the run,' Dann said. 'It's probably no stronger than the Mackay Cup. 'We had a tough run in the Mackay Cup, we were four and five-wide for the trip. 'We have got another bad barrier to deal with, but if he has some luck this time he will be in the finish. 'He has done well since the Mackay Cup where he had a horror run.'
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Georgie Holt has high hopes for Tambo's Justice in Townsville Cup
Georgie Holt will love to follow the Jeff Dunn - Rikki Jamieson fairytale script and win a big race as a husband-and-wife trainer-jockey combination, but in this game it's never that simple. Beaudesert trainer Dunn and his wife Jamieson achieved the rare feat on Sha Of Gomer in last month's $200,000 Listed Ramornie Handicap at Grafton. But with Townsville trainer Holt's husband Aidan unable to ride under 57.5kg, it makes the dream much harder to turn into reality. Holt's rising star Tambo's Justice will run in the $150,000 Townsville Cup (2000m) on Saturday, although apprentice Tahlia Fenlon will take the ride. 'It gets a bit trickier with us because Aidan's very restricted with weight,' Georgie Holt said about the prospect of winning a feature race as a wife-and-husband combination. 'In those bigger races, unless you've got a horse that's highly rated which gets 57.5kg or more, then it does restrict our opportunities, but I'm not saying it's impossible. 'He's spent more time out of the saddle than he has in. That's taken away most of our feature races which he could've ridden in had his weight been suited back then. 'He's got things under control at the moment and hopefully one day we'll be able to snag one together.' Until then, the Holts will be banking on the former Tony Gollan -trained Tambo's Justice adding to his six wins from just eight races when he contests the Townsville Cup at Cluden Park. Gollan sent the son of Justify to north Queensland before he had even raced after the gelding was beaten by more than 20 lengths combined in two trials last year and had developed behavioural issues in the barriers. While admitting that 'late bloomer' Tambo's Justice was ordinary in trials, Holt said the galloper's issues with manners were quickly resolved in Townsville. 'I'm not saying we're horse whisperers or anything like that, but whatever we did just worked,' she said. 'He's quite a big horse so that can be enough to throw him when he gets in the barriers and feels a bit closed off. 'We went to the races and, touch wood, he hasn't put a foot wrong since.' That's an understatement as Tambo's Justice has been dominant since triumphing in his race debut over 1300m last November. He earned a ticket into the Townsville Cup with victory in the Magnetic Island Mile (1609m) on July 6, with his only flop coming last-start when he finished sixth in the Winter Cup, with the blinkers off, in his first race at 2000m. 'He certainly wasn't disgraced in that run but everyone was expecting him to finish a lot closer,' Holt said of the gelding owned by breeder Dalan Tamblyn. Holt said sometimes she had a difference of opinion with her husband when mapping out a race but generally the couple worked 'quite well as a team, just staying in our lane and doing what we're good at'. 'We don't really disagree on things but sometimes we have different ideas or think on a different wavelength with horses,' she said. 'I don't give him too many instructions, I don't need to.' The Holts have floated the idea of moving back to Brisbane from Townsville, where they have lived for eight years and Georgie has won two trainers' premierships, but the timing isn't right yet. She said the gruelling travel schedule in the tropics 'kills us', especially with young kids Kai, 6, and Archie, 3, to consider. 'You put them to bed at night and you might not see them again for two days because you've gone to Cairns and back and you're home late and then they've gone to school,' she said 'Generally only one of us will go away to a race meeting. It does get very hard because the next provincial track is four hours' away at a minimum. 'The kids get dragged around too. They might go to Mackay and back with eight horses for the day. It's just the way it's got to go sometimes.'
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Will Hulbert seeks redemption in Townsville Cup after Mackay Cup disappointment
Will Hulbert was kicking stones after the unplaced run of his Mackay Cup favourite. Quite literally. Brisbane trainer Hulbert was so dark on how the race panned out, he set off on foot across some local cane fields and walked much of the way to Mackay Airport. He wasn't in much of a mood for company. Kipling's Journey, a stable stalwart who has won almost $300,000 in prizemoney, had missed the kick and was then hunted forward but was taken on and spent too many petrol tickets to be a force in the final stages of the 2000m race. But Hulbert, who co-trains with dad Peter, said Saturday's $150,000 Townsville Cup (2000m) represents a strong chance for redemption. After competing in both the Rockhampton and Mackay Cups, and giving the Townsville Cup a crack on Saturday, it is likely Kipling's Journey will keep winding his way north for a Cairns Cup mission later this month. But first things first. 'After the Mackay Cup, I didn't want to see anyone and the surcharges on Ubers were through the roof, so I just started walking towards the airport,' Hulbert said. 'I walked through a sugar cane field, felt my hamstring tightening up and arrived at the airport with my phone about to die which wasn't ideal as it had my plane ticket on it. 'Hopefully Townsville is a better experience on Saturday. 'The horse pulled up well from his run in Mackay and he had a good gallop on Monday morning. 'We finished fourth in Rocky and fifth in Mackay so hopefully he will win the next two ones in Townsville and Cairns.' Ahead of the Townsville Cup, Hulbert is adamant he wants jockey Adin Thompson to seek cover on Kipling's Journey. He insists he doesn't have to lead. 'Over shorter trips he leads, but once he is up to this sort of trip he needs to be ridden with cover,' Hulbert said. 'To be honest, if the horse relaxed a bit better I think he would run even further than this.' Kipling's Journey has drawn barrier nine in the Townsville Cup field which will have 16 starters.
