A rising young trainer that is a regular on our brissyraces.com.au site is Ben Ahrens from Beaudesert. He is eyeing some big races with star stayer Spechenka, and also notched up winners at Toowoomba and Sunshine Coast over the weekend.
On face value it did look as though Spechenka was a touch flat in the Newcastle cup last Thursday and I asked Ben if that was the case, and what he does with the horse now? “He was disappointing really, and we did think he would go better. He did seem to still pull up a bit big, but we were of the opinion he was really close to the mark and ready to do something. But he just didn’t show his best there.” Ahrens said.
Ben also pointed out to me that he got the horse checked out before leaving. “We got him looked over at the vets at Wyong before we headed home and everything was fine.”
On his day he is probably Queensland’s best stayer and as long as Ben can keep him sound he can put in a big performance over the spring carnivals in Sydney and Melbourne. The plan is to just see how the horse progresses and then decide whether to push on to the Metropolitan (2400m), but getting a start could be the main issue.
The stable also has a handy horse in Lughaat who won at the Sunshine Coast yesterday and is capable of winning a couple more midweek races with a bit more luck. “He finally had some luck and got the money. We could go for more similar races, or if he is still going good we could look at a suitable no metrop win race, but it all depends on what’s available in those type of races.” Ahrens said.
It is worth noting that the 1800m yesterday was a higher quality race then you would expect to get on a Sunday and Ben and I agreed that the form out of that particular race will be pretty good.
Ben is a knowledgeable young trainer who has around 14 horses in work now and has a few nice young horses coming in soon. If you would like to check out more about Ben and his setup, check out his website at:
http://www.benahrensracing.com.au/
**Also for those who have not read yesterday’s “Wrap up” page, I included the replay of Jimmy Choux winning in NZ, and a replay of one of the overseas invaders Lucas Cranach. I am not sure the exact date that it wins that race, but it has to be seen to be believed.
