Well we got a bit of breaking news this morning when I rang Sue Grills to see how Border Rebel was travelling leading into the Listed Healy Stakes 1200m at Eagle Farm. Sue informed me that it is likely he will race in Sydney with Josh Parr on board this weekend instead and miss the Healy.
The race in Sydney is the Winter Dash over 1200m and he has 56.5kg. Sue summed it up pretty good when I asked her about the horse. “He is going really well and is back on track again. He should have won that race (Qtc Cup) a couple of years ago where he got badly interfered with by Catapulted who won the race. I’m sure Oliver got time for the ride but we didn’t win the race. He is going as good as he is gone, I know he is seven but he is very lightly raced, was good at Scone and I don’t think he has run a bad race this time in.” Grills said.
I had completely forgotten about the Qtc cup from a couple of years ago but that did jolt the memory and he was very unlucky on that occasion. In my opinion this is the best he has gone since that preparation and the writing is on the wall for his next couple of starts to take out a good race.
The form from the QTC cup looks pretty strong after Conservatorium romped home with a big weight at Ipswich last week and he finished 0.5L in front of Border Rebel in the cup.
Sue also said that the plan beyond the weekend is the Ramornie at Grafton which is always a good race and with the likes of Howmuchdoyouloveme likely to line up, the old boy Border Rebel may get in pretty well at the weights and take a stack of beating. It does look the perfect race for him and he does go well on any surface but a drop of rain in the lead up would only enhance his prospects.
If my research is right he was a cheap $26,000 when first purchased and Grills has done an outstanding job with the son of Johannesburg. He has won 14 of his 33 career starts and amassed $620,000 for connections. It was great to talk to Sue and let’s hope this horse can continue on in the form he has currently and put a couple of good wins together in the next month for another one of racing’s great ladies.
