Racing Review Callaghan Park: Thursday 9th October

Alisha Taylor gets a win with her first Rockhampton starter

Alisha Taylor is building a formidable winning strike rate after collecting the Korte Group BM65 Handicap (1600m) with Pepperdine, her first Rockhampton starter as a trainer at Callaghan Park on Thursday.

In winning, Taylor got one up on her multi-premiership winning brother who prepared the $2.80 equal favourite One Thing Counts, the fifth placed horse.

Pepperdine, the other $2.80 equal favourite, carried 62kg topweight and was ridden by Ryan Wiggins to score by almost a length from Prepotent ($6.00- Chris McIver) with Native Bee ($41.00 – Georgina Cartwright) in third place.

Raced by an ownership trio that includes her husband, former top local trainer Jared Wehlow, Pepperdine, a six-year-old scored its eighth race from 26 starts.

Taylor saddled her first runner in Mackay less than two weeks ago and made a dream debut there also.

She took three gallopers to the races on her maiden afternoon as a trainer at Ooralea and walked away with a first-up winning double.

The one horse that didn’t get a win, finished third and was not beaten by far either.

Alisha has been around the industry since she was a young girl and is the daughter of Caloundra mentor Garnett Taylor as well as being the brother of leading Rockhampton trainer Clinton Taylor.

Like Clinton, she initially rode for her father and had a successful career.

She then became a mum to Chloe. That was about 10 years ago. Taylor worked as foreman for her husband and rode trackwork before branching out recently as a trainer, with a small team of horses.

Pepperdine, bred by the same breeders that bred triple Melbourne Cup hero Makybe Diva, was originally in Jared’s Callaghan Park barns before he retired from training last year.

Clinton Taylor and Ryan Wiggins Double Up at Callaghan Park

Top local combination, trainer Clinton Taylor and jockey Ryan Wiggins dominated the seven-race program.

The duo who are the early leaders in the local premierships teamed to win two races.

Their winners were four-year-old gelding Woodstock Rock, and three-year-old filly Atlantic Rain.

Woodstock Rock was handed the Secure Last Caulfield Cup Tickets Benchmark 65 Handicap (1200m) on a platter when rival jockeys allowed Wiggins on Woodstock Rock to go at a snail’s pace.

“They were never going to beat him like that,” Taylor said.

Jockey Ryan Wiggins told Taylor that he thinks Woodstock Rock may also get over longer distances. “He will run 1400m,” Wiggins told the trainer.

The $1.65 favourite strolled to the line to score by more than three-and-a-half lengths. Pretty Slick ($4,80 – Ash Butler) was the best of the chasers, finishing second a good margin clear of Let’s Dance Jandy ($4.80 – Les Tilley).

Woodstock Rock has now won four of 12 races for Taylor who purchased the Impending gelding on behalf of a stable client Stuart Millsfor $40,000 at the 2023 March MM Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Atlantic Rain is too good for its opponents on debut 

Clinton Taylor produced a smart filly in Atlantic Rain to win Thursday’s opening race the TAB QTIS 3YO Maiden Plate (1100m).

Ridden by Ryan Wiggins the short-priced $2.25 favourite showed its opponents a clean pair of heels to win by three lengths from the Gladstone visitor Viking Sun ($3.80 – Sean Cormack) with the Toowoomba-trained Oh Pretty Emma ($2.90 – Les Tilley) in third place. Raced by Rodney Hay. Atlantic Rain was a$20,000 purchase at the March 2024 MM Gold Coast Yearling Sale. She is a three-year-old daughter of Tassort from the former Farren Weir-trained Savabeel mare, Ocean Mist, a lightly raced three-time winner. Runner-up Viking Sun (Bellevue Hill – Magistra) could be one to follow from the race. He tailed the field into the straight and ran on well. Jockey, Cormack said the lightly raced galloper is a nice horse, still maturing. “He is still learning, and there is a bit of improvement there,” Cormack told the trainer Ian Prizeman. Viking Sun’s older brother Svindal has won 15 races and $217,000 prizemoney so far for the Prizeman family. Viking Sun has now run four minor placings from five race starts.

Three in a row for Gee Eye Why

Gee Eye Why recorded its third consecutive win in just over a month but didn’t attract the support of punters at Callaghan Park.

Connections were amazed at the starting odds for the grey gelding when it won the Great Northern Class 3 Plate (1050m).

Starting at odds of $19.00 in the eight-horse field, the Jamie McConachy-trained Gee Eye Why was strong to the line for jockey Chris McIverto defeat Snazzy Snitzel ($8.00- Nikki Olzard) with Kathy’s Rose $3.60 – Ryan Wiggins) in third place.  Gee Eye Why, raced by Helen Yeates, won its previous two starts in Mackay and Gladstone.

“I know they were country wins, but they were good wins, he was six lengths off them when he won in Gladstone a couple of weeks ago,” stable representative Jess Ladbrook said. Gee Eye Why is a four-year-old by Dracarys from Yeates’ unraced mare Princess Georgia and the gelding gets his colour from the damsire Instinction, a Group placed Listed race winning son of Exceed and Excel.

Well bred mare scores at nice odds in the 0-55 Handicap

Gladstone’s Dennis Schultz put the visitors on the board with Love My Louis scoring its second win this season, taking out the 0-55 Handicap (1050m).

Ridden by Clinton Taylor’s apprentice Tom Orr, Love My Louis ($12.00) began quickly and proved a touch too strong for the local $1.85 favourite, Discovered Gold (Raul Silvera-Olivera) with the Thangool trained Awesome Miss ($15.00 -Georgina Cartwright) in third place. Love My Louis was a Yeppoon winner in August, and she seems to be racing in great heart this preparation. The six-year-old mare by Capitalist x Jest Excel has now won four of 42 starts.

“She almost jumped to quick for me, she got away that well,” Orr said.

Punters that follow the two-year-old form may have found the long-priced winner. She is a half-sister this year’s ATC Gimcrack Stakes winner Shiki, a Gai Waterhouse/Adrian Bott trained Too Darn Hot – Jest Excel filly.

Crusher survives a protest

The $3.40 favourite Boom Crusher survived a photo finish and a protest to win the RTCQ Technology Maiden Plate (1100m).

With 10 previous placings from 21 starts Boom Crusher had promised plenty but before Thursday failed to deliver. The Spirit Of Boom gelding ridden by Sean Cormack found the company to his liking and lifted to stave off a determined change from the runner up Three Tees ($4.40- Nikki Olzard). The winning margin was a nose with Olzard claiming interference over the final 50m and protesting the result. The protest was dismissed. Mackay’s Rum Runner ($11.00 – Georgina Cartwright) finished third.

Bundaberg galloper takes out the last

Bundaberg galloper Darling Clementine sent punters home on a winning note winning the last race the latter Kennedy BM55 Handicap (1300m).

The Darryl Gardiner trained mare was ridden by Warwick Satherley. Strating at $2.50 Darling Clementine survived a charge from Yes I’m Ugly ($3.30 -Les Tilley) with Santorini Summer ($21.00 -Chris McIver) in third place, beaten less than 1.5 lengths. Darling Clementine found its way into Gardiner’s stable about a year ago when purchased cheaply online. Gardiner has had a pretty good strike on his trips to Rockhampton this year mixing the turf racing with the sand on his home track.

• RJC CEO David Aldred