Most of the eyes of the racing world will be on the $3.5 million Golden Slipper at Rosehill on Saturday.
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But for Dubbo trainer Clint Lundholm, his “Group 1” feature is on Sunday at his hometown track.
Lundholm will saddle up four chances in the Western Racing Association Country Championships Qualifier at Dubbo Turf Club and a friendly barrier draw combined with a near-faultless preparation has him eyeing a ticket to the $500,000 final at Royal Randwick.
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Of Lundholm’s four, Joey’s Destiny opened a $3.60 favourite on Thursday while Dreadlock was at $4.60, Sprezzatura at $11 and Tuncoona was at $15.
“It’s really nerve-wracking because you've got them to the point where you want them to be peaking on the day and, to be honest, I don’t know how they cope with Group 1s and those blokes in Sydney, it must be so stressful for them,” he said.
“But this feels like our Group 1 and it’s something you work so hard for and to have all four horses peaking at once is a great credit to stable and staff.”
Lundholm admitted there’s been plenty of nerves in the lead-up to this weekend, with plans for the Country Championships being formed 12 months ago.
Joey’s Destiny and Dreadlock had always been targeted at this event from a long way out while Tuncoona has come into contention after a huge amount of improvement in recent times and a fine ability to step up in distance.
Sprezzatura came into Lundholm’s stables midway through last year having previously been trained by Bjorn Baker.
Similar to Dreadlock, Sprezzatura had an amazing knack of running second put confirmed himself as a starter in the qualifier when winning at Mudgee last start.
“I’m really happy to have four runners in it,” Lundholm said.
“Once the barriers come out the nerves have settled a bit and we’re more confident now knowing the horses have drawn well.
“They’re all going to get nice runs in the race and then on Sunday it will be up to the jockeys from there, it will be out of our hands.”
Greg Ryan has opted to take the ride on Joey’s Destiny after being impressed by his efforts in the two starts back this preparation while a drop in weight to 57.5kg, still the top weight in the qualifier, was attractive.
He will go from barrier five while Andrew Banks will line up in barrier four with Dreadlock. Noel Callow will ride Sprezzatura from barrier nine and Michael Hackett will be in the saddle of Tuncoona in barrier 10.
Lundholm stated he is “100 percent confident” each of the four horses can run a place on Sunday but he knows better than most the risk of looking too far ahead.
The young trainer also had the early favourite for the 2016 qualifier in the form of Snippety Sip but when he broke down in his final start before the rich event, all the plans were ruined.
“That was gut-wrenching,” Lundholm said.
“But we’re back this year and that’s the past. We’re looking into the future.”
Snippety Sip is owned by David and Helen Ringland and they also part-own Sprezzatura while David is a part owner of another qualifier contender, the Rodney Robb-trained Lulu’s Destiny.
The horses which run first and second in Sunday’s feature will advance to the Country Championships Final at Randwick on April 7.
The qualifier is at 3.35pm with the first event of the day at 12.20pm.
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
