THE WEEK THAT WAS..04/06/2011...
"TROT TACTICS"..04/06/2011..
It seems that the bulk of Ipswich young driving talent comes from the Glamorganvale area at the moment.Last week the spotlight was on Kelli Dawson and Chantal Turpin,with Dawson top scoring in the Botra Queensland Young Drivers Championship for the second year in succession.The win added to the Dawson family's domination of this event for the past five years with Melissa kicking the sequence off followed by brother Trent (a double) and now the double to Kelli.Meanwhile,as you read this,Chantal Turpin is in Christchurch New Zealand flying the flag for the Sunshine State in the Australasian Young Drivers Championship which would have been held in conjunction with the Inter-Dominion had the earthquake not intervened.It must be in the water..
Shaun Gillespie of Five Star horse transport is on the road to recovery following a severe bout of pneumonia which saw him hospitalised for some time.Shaun and Tanya would like to thank all the well wishers and helpers for their kind thoughts and assistance,particularly Gavin Crone and Steven Doyle who dropped everything and headed to Caboolture to recover the truck and organise the horsey side of things..
Is he a one woman horse?.Crackerofaparty,sold to clients of the Vicki Rasmussen stable,where he went on to win the 2yo Colts and Geldings division of the Triad Series last year,had failed to find any worthwhile form when returned to work from a spell.Transferred by Rasmussen to his previous trainer,Ann Manwaring,the pacer is now well on the ladder up with three wins from eight starts,with Manwaring in the cart on most racedays.Like a comforting hug from mum..
Town Champion,the sire of Bill Crosby's top class 3yo,Final Champion,has been purchased by Crosby to stand in the Ipswich area for the coming season.More details at a later date,but Bill has a first class reputation for knowing a good thing when he sees one.Will this be the horse that sires the golden foals..
In the places to be department,there will be an open industry meeting at Albion Park on Sunday 05/06 (tomorrow) at 2.pm.. As far as I can determine,it is to discuss the prizemoney schedule and Q-bred bonuses which Racing Queensland Ltd have put in place for July 1st.You are invited to come and have your say.You should do this for your own knowledge as secondhand reporting from meetings such as this have a habit of becoming distorted.If you are coming,have a think about ways to improve turnover and bring more participants into the sport.RQL has released the turnover figures for trots and dogs.The dogs are doing 14.5% and getting paid 9.5%,we are doing 9.8% and are paid 14.5%.When these payout figures are reversed as the rule of "perform or perish" is applied (and it will be),it will be attributed to the participants for putting up with idle and unfocussed administrations over the last 20 years.And,we will have to cop it!!
To close out on a pleasant note,if next Saturday,June 11 is a nice fine day,get out Marburg for the non-Tab meeting.Older folk can have a trip down memory lane with the running of the Gordon and Jenny Francis Handicap.Remember the green jacket with the pink stars,often associated with a betting plunge.Regardless of the deficiencies of the track (501 yards and as hard as concrete) the Ipswich Showgrounds was a place of excitement on a Saturday afternoon,and Gordon Francis was a leading player!!
Resultsville...Gold Coast 27/05..Melton Rejection (Pete for John McMullen)..Gemma Khan (Ricky Gordon)...Albion Park 28/06.. nil...Albion Park 30/06..Berryman Boy (Lola Weidemann for Daniel Anforth)...Albion Park 31/06..Highstead (Pete McMullen for Phil Mitchell)...Redcliffe 01/06..Vinnies Adventure (Cassie Saunders for Al Barnes)...Gold Coast 02/06..Rennie Sivad (Pete for John McMullen)...
Selections for Albion Park tonight...R 1: Quinella 1-8: Arma Fake (K.Dawson) and Falcons Legend (B.Cowen)..R 2: E/w 10: Our Archangel (D.Belford)..R 3: Trifecta 2-7-8: Upham VC (N.Scott)--Sign To Inverell (D.Graham)--Our Sixpence (J.McCarthy)..R 4: E/w 4: Ark De Jeanne (N.Rasmussen)..R 5: Trifecta 1-2-8: Artzone (T.Dawson)--Mikettee (D.Hancock)--Nickys Heir (N.Scott)..R 6: Quinella 1-3: Be Good Johnny (J.McCarthy) and Fox Valley Appeal (G.Whitaker)..R 7: Quinella 1-3: Kickagoal (M.Neilson) and Mia Amico (P.McMullen)..R 8: E/w 1: Exceptional Cullen (G.Dixon)..R 9: E/w 4: Aunty Bev (J.McCarthy)...