Trainers of horses who qualify early for the $1 million Country Championship Final are obviously relieved to get the hard part out of the way, but then they have to deal with a different kind of problem. Once the initial euphoria has diminished those trainers have to start planning the best way forward for their horses over lengthy time spans.
Matt Dunn, who qualified Tribeca Star and Rainbow Connection at Grafton on Feb 17th has a seven week gap to the Final on April 6th. So too does Ron Stubbs who won the Albury Qualifier twenty four hours later with Bianco Vilano. As the rain tumbled down at Tuncurry-Forster on Saturday, Marc Quinn wasn’t even sure he’d get the opportunity to qualify his two runners. As it turned out the track held up surprisingly well, and the Port Macquarie trainer was able to snare the quinella with Auzstar and Agirlsbestfriend - his only runners at the meeting. Marc now has to plot the wisest course for both finalists over a six week period. Lockdown Gamble and Musical Affair also clinched their Final spots by providing the quinella in Sunday’s CDRA Qualifier at Mudgee.
Keeping an eye on two horses in a field of fourteen can be a frustrating business for any race watcher. Marc Quinn’s task on Saturday was made easier when Auzstar went straight to the front while stablemate Agirlsbestfriend was ridden out the back as is her customary racing pattern. Auzstar had the race safely in his keeping at the 200m. Agirlsbestfriend was making significant ground down the outside despite looking uncomfortable in the H10 conditions. Although beaten just over 5 lengths by her free wheeling stablemate, the Star Turn mare did a tremendous job to grab second place right on the line from Bantarki. Her large Vardy Thoroughbreds ownership syndicate will make plenty of noise if the chestnut mare looms up down the long Randwick straight on April 6th.
Auzstar flies through the murk and gloom in the Tuncurry-Forster qualifier on Saturday - courtesy Trackside Photography.
Auzstar continued a stunning winning run for Inglis Online Digital graduates in winning Saturday’s $150,000 feature at Tuncurry-Forster. He was a $40,000 purchase in January 2022 for Peter Colley and Greenhaven Park Stud who sent him initially to Grafton trainer Warren Gavenlock. Just a month later the gelding won a maiden on his new home track for Gavenlock who soon after made the surprise announcement that he intended to relinquish his licence. Colley arranged for Auzstar to be transferred to Marc Quinn who has subsequently won another four races with the son of Zoustar. At the time of his online sale the gelding had failed to win in a total of seven starts for the John Sargent and Chris Waller yards. A change of environment and a drop in class have given the gelding a lease of life. Peter Colley and associates now find themselves with a runner in a $1 million feature in April.
Agirlsbestfriend holds the distinction of being the first horse actually purchased and syndicated by Steve Vardy, whose new syndication company was just emerging at the time of the 2021 Inglis Classic Sale. Steve was somewhat disheartened after being outgunned for a couple of early lots, but wasn’t leaving the Riverside Auditorium without throwing in a bid or two on a Star Turn filly he’d inspected several times earlier in the day. To Steve’s delight the gavel fell in his favour at $55,000. He had the filly broken in immediately before dispatching her to the Marc Quinn stables at Port Macquarie.
Agirlsbestfriend didn’t win until her fourth start at the end of 2022, but it was a win that set the tongues wagging. With Luke Rolls in the saddle, she gave the leaders a huge start in a 1400m maiden at Coffs Harbour before unleashing a finishing sprint that left observers gobsmacked. Agirlsbestfriend has won two races subsequently at Muswellbrook and Coffs, with a handful of cracking runs in TAB Highways also on her CV. Her two Rosehill runs prior to Saturday’s outing resulted in a second to Bon Frankie and a fourth to Lensman. On both occasions she came from rearward positions and had to contend with traffic problems. “There’s no doubt this is the way she has to be ridden,” says Marc Quinn. “We’ve tried to have her a little closer a couple of times but she doesn’t let down as well. She needs a fast run race and clear running late to show her best. The day it all falls into place she’s capable of winning a decent race.”
"That was easy" says Agirlsbestfriend as she coasts home for Jenny Duggan at Muswellbrook January 2023 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
With the six week wait to the Country Championship Final, the Port Macquarie trainer has already put his training plan into operation. He left home early on Sunday morning with both horses on board for the three hour road trip to the Central Coast. “I use a wonderful facility called Triple Crown Lodge at Central Mangrove whenever I need to give horses a quick freshen up,” said Marc. “Auzstar and Agirlsbestfriend will have one week there before returning to work at Port Macquarie. That change of scenery will perk them up before the serious stuff begins for the big one on April 6th. At this stage I don’t intend to run either of them before the Championship Final, but they’ll both have one or two barrier trials before the big day. I’ll make the necessary calls as we go along. For now, they’re both super fit and in a good space. The one thing I can confirm is that jockeys Matt McGuren and Jenny Duggan will retain the rides in the grand final at Randwick.
Marc has experienced the Country Championship hype on two previous occasions. In 2015 Explosive Scene made the Final by finishing second in a Port Macquarie Qualifier but not even the artistry of legendary jockey Damien Oliver could generate better than a mid field finish behind Artlee. Two years later he produced Cogliere to win a home track Qualifier, before finishing officially eighth to Free Standing at Royal Randwick.
Marc Quinn receives the trainer's trophy from Charles Kelly at Tuncurry on Saturday - courtesy Trackside Photography.
Following some significant rain during last week the Tuncurry-Forster track benefited from a very hot Friday. Had the rain stayed away, the showplace mid north coast track would have come up with a better rating than most people expected for its second hosting of the MNCRA Qualifier. Tuncurry-Forster Jockey Club Chairman Garry McQuillan got little sleep in the few days leading up to the meeting.
“It was cloudy on Saturday morning but we crossed the fingers and hoped it might take up during the day,” said the dedicated administrator. “I was horrified when the rain set in and got pretty heavy at times. To make matters worse a heavy haze started to move in. It was a gloomy sight as they jumped in the Qualifier at 5.40pm on Saturday evening. We kept checking with the jockeys through the afternoon and all agreed the track was heavy but uniform. They were never worried about the ground, but they had concerns about the lack of visibility. I think we got the big one over in the nick of time. We desperately need good weather for the rest of this week to give the track a chance to recover for another meeting next Saturday. The weather decimated what promised to be our best day ever. Enquiries had been massive and we were confident the roll up would have exceeded the crowd we had at our Seafood Race Day in January. We’ll have another crack at the record crowd next year.”
Tuncurry-Forster Jockey Club Chairman Garry McQuillan was relieved to get Saturdays qualifier done and dusted - courtesy Great Lakes Advocate.
Garry was very disappointed recently to receive the resignation of livewire racecourse manager Luke Spicer, who in just three years in the job has shown wisdom beyond his years. The 27 year old had brought the picturesque venue to a level commensurate with the top country racecourses in the nation. Luke has been one country track manager who refuses to let a weed grow anywhere within the confines of the grounds. Comments from Sky Racing viewers are regularly complimentary towards the tidiness of the Tuncurry-Forster racecourse. Best wishes go to Luke Spicer in all future endeavours.
The tenth edition of the Country Championship will continue with Qualifiers at Moruya 03/03/2024, Tamworth 10/03/2024, Coonamble 17/03/2024, Scone Wild Card 22/03/2024 and Goulburn Wild Card on 24/03/2024. Come April 6th another country trained galloper will complete the first decade of winners in this unique series. Artlee kicked it off in 2015 for trainer Todd Willan and jockey Mitchell Bell. In 2016 it was Clearly Innocent for Greg Bennett and Tommy Berry followed in 2017 by Free Standing for trainer Cathleen Rode and jockey Blake Shinn. 2018 saw Victorem win for Port Macquarie trainer and jockey duo Jenny Graham and Ben Looker. Noble Boy prevailed in 2019 for Todd Blowes and Hugh Bowman, while in 2020 it was Gracie Belle for Matt Dunn and Kerrin McEvoy. 2021 saw Terry Robinson and Tommy Berry join the honour roll with Art Cadeau followed in 2022 by Another One for Wagga trainer Gary Colvin and talented jockey Nick Heywood. The trophy went back to Dubbo in 2023 when Sizzle Minizzle greeted the judge for Brett Robb and Sam Clipperton. The statistics show that Tommy Berry is the only jockey or trainer so far to win the Country Championship Final on two occasions. To most racing fans the Final on April 6th will be far overshadowed by races like the Doncaster and Australian Derby. To a certain bunch of NSW country owners, trainers and jockeys those trifling events will merely clutter up the programme. To the “bushies” the whole star studded affair revolves around the Country Championship Final. May the best horse win it fair and square.
Tommy Berry is the only trainer or jockey to win the Country Championship Final twice. This was his second win on Art Cadeau in 2021 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
(Banner image - Auzstar (Matt McGuren) had it all to himself at the finish of the Country Championship qualifier on Saturday - courtesy Trackside Photography.)