The three year old races that we have seen so far this carnival have been excellent racing and the last race at Doomben this Saturday promises to be another great clash.
We caught up with Sunshine Coast trainer Andrew Williamson before Ready To Rip kicked off his campaign and he told us the horse could not be any better and it went on to win at $9. That day he settled near the back off a hot tempo over the unsuitable 1000m and was just far too strong late.
Second up he drew gate 1 at the Gold Coast in the Guineas and looked to be one of the unluckiest runners of the day and only got beaten 1.4L. (That seen him go into our Blackbookers) Ready To Rip now gets out to the 1350m at Doomben which would suit, but unfortunately he has come up with gate 20.
I had a chat with Andrew Williamson today to get his thoughts on the big race Saturday. He again is very happy with the horse, he said the whole preparation has gone according to plan and he is looking forward to the weekend. On the situation of the bad barrier he felt the horse would most likely go back but he would catch up with Damian Browne and probably leave it in his capable hands. He also stated that the 1350m start does allow horses more of a chance to get in than a lot of other starting points and that if the rain comes that it may play into their hands and favour horses coming to the outside. Any rain won’t hamper Ready To Rip’s chances, however Williamson does believe the horse is probably even better on top of the ground.
A lot of trainers change their minds 100 times during carnival time and I thought I would ask Andrew if he had waivered from his plan to go to the QLD Guineas (1600m) and maybe look at the Stradbroke (1400m). He said he “would have a little look, but almost certainly the horse will run in the Daybreak Lover on Oaks day and then go onto the Queensland Guineas.”
He has always showed a lot of promise the son of More Than Ready and a lot of credit should be given to his trainer Andrew Williamson at the Sunshine Coast. He has handled the gelding beautifully and is now reaping the rewards of his patience.
Best of luck to Andrew on the weekend and let’s hope this top Queensland horse can hold off the southern raiders and get one up before the Origin series!
**In other news– Quality race mare Melito was retired yesterday..
***In some other racing news the Queensland Racehorse Owners Association has made a proposal that midweek prizemoney should rise $7000 and provincial TAB maiden and class 1’s go up $6000.
But Bob Bentley has again come out and stated as he has before that there is “no magic pot of gold” to fund needed prizemoney increases.
So it continues again until it’s brought up again in three months and the same happens. It is getting very close to QLD racing losing a lot of owners and trainers out of our state, and who could blame them!!
**Remember to check in for “The Punt” section tomorrow, and remember to spread the word of brissyraces.com.au to all people who are interested in racing, especially during our carnival!
