I’ve been everywhere trainer circles back to Callaghan Park.

Barcaldine’s Toni Schofield has had over 500 starters with her horses racing on plenty of different tracks in Queensland in recent years, but it’s been almost two years since she has saddled up a starter on the turf at Callaghan Park.

Schofield doesn’t get to Rocky that often these days and her last trip to the Beef Capital was for the Rockhampton Cup Carnival in 2023.

Early next week she will travel six hours from Barcaldine to Rockhampton with four horses in tow for Tuesday’s races at Callaghan Park.

“We’re all set, horses are accepted and I’m looking forward to it,” Schofield said.

Her four runners are Lieutenant (BM72-1050m), Typical You (Class 2 -1200m), Bello Bello (Class 2 – 1200m), and Shez Lethal (Maiden Plate -1400m).  Schofield will bring her stable rider Jason Missen to partner her runners and where she has two in the same class, has local Chris McIver ready to ride Bello Bello.

The trainer identified late bloomer, Typical You as a progressive type.  A five-year-old Rubick gelding has only raced seven times. He won his maiden three years ago at Cranbourne and two years ago when trained by John O’Shea was runner up at Kembla Grange in a Benchmark 64. The galloper hasn’t raced since August 2023, but Schofield reckons, he only needs to find the southern form to run well. “His form from a few starts for John O’Shea was pretty good,” the trainer said. Eight-year-old gelding Lieutenant was formerly trained in Rockhampton by Steve Rundle. A Battle Of The Bush runner last year at Eagle Farm, the son of Spirit Of Boom has managed to win 10 races in its career so far. Most of the old stager’s wins have been at Longreach and Blackall and he is resuming from a spell with his last run a third place behind The Hanger Cat in a Longreach Open last July. Former Victorian Bello Bello has had two runs in the west and was unplaced at Mt Isa last week. The Magnus mare is a 1400m Warrnambool winner and has been placed twice on country Victorian tracks. “I’m hoping the grass track at Callaghan Park will spark her back to form,” Schofield said. Shez Lethal is a family-owned mare by Flying Artie that showed a big improvement at her last start, her first for Schofield. Two weeks ago, at Barcaldine, the former Northern Rivers trained five-year-old finished second to Hamiso in a Maiden Plate (1200m), “She wasn’t beaten far even though she didn’t run a place at her other starts down south, so she may improve again,” Schofield said.

It’s been a full circle for Schofield, as Rockhampton was her temporary home when she was riding trackwork before returning to her origins to train in the Central West along with her father David “Snowy” Hall about seven years ago. Prior to that she rode under her maiden name of Toni Hall, and was a jockey for three years in the Central West until 2004 when she got too heavy and had to give up on race riding. Schofield rode 24 winners before her career change. Branching out as a trainer, getting her license for the 2018-19 season, Schofield’s barn has seen an influx of gallopers over the past few years. The trainer is now busy managing her growing team in Barky with the help of her partner, stable foreman Nathan. Last Saturday, Schofield saddled horses to race at Mt Isa, the Saturday before she was at home in Barcaldine, and at Blackall the week before that. The list of tracks that she has raced horses at in recent seasons is like listening to the words of a Slim Dusty classic. Schofield-trained horses have travelled the length and breadth of Queensland to race at Aramac, Blackall, Brisbane, Clermont, Cloncurry, Corfield, Emerald, Isisford, Longreach, Mackay, Moranbah, Morven, Mt Isa, Muttaburra, Prairie, Rockhampton and Wilton and I’m sure there’s others. Yes, she’s pretty much been everywhere.

RJC CEO, David Aldred

Photo Credit: Roxy Weston: RLR Photography.