Racing Round-up Thursday 9th January at Callaghan Park.

HONOURBEFORE GLORY MARCHES TO VICTORY AT CALLAGHAN PARK

Thangool-owned Honourbefore Glory made an impressive debut on Thursday at Callaghan Park winning the TAB QTIS 2YO Handicap (10-50m) in easy fashion.

The filly from the same family as the unbeaten Black Caviar, was saddled by trained  Clinton Taylor and ridden by Justin Stanley and controlled his debut race from start to finish. A short-priced $1.45 favourite, Honourbefore Glory won by 1.6 lengths from Hi Frank (Ash Butler) with two lengths to Valubious (Warwick Satherley). Stemming from a ‘blue hen’ line of top thoroughbreds, Honourbefore Glory’s maternal line gets interesting very close-up. His great grandmother was the Group 1 winning mare Scandinavia who foaled Helsinge, the mother of unbeaten superstar Black Caviar. Other top horses from the same family include All Too Hard and Magnus.

Thangool Race Club president Pat Brennan, the managing owner, bred the gelding from his 20-year-old Distant Music mare, Hypatia which ran with limited success in the Central Queensland region a decade and a half ago. The mare has had more than a dozen foals. Honourbefore Glory is by the good winner-getter Heroic Valour. Stanley said he was very impressed by the galloper who looks to have a good future.

OLZARD BOOTS HOME FIRST PROVINCIAL WINNER

Apprentice jockey Nikki Olzard reached a major milestone in her career when she scored her first provincial race victory on Gladstone-owned and Rockhampton trained favourite Alloutatime in the Class 3 Plate (1050m). Olzard who had all her early guidance under Rockhampton’s Adrian Coome, the partner of Alloutatime’s trainer Sileas Green, has been riding for almost two years and has been a prolific win-getter on country tracks with close to 80 winners, but a provincial victory eluded her until her late pick-up ride on Thursday at Callaghan Park. Ryan Wiggins was booked to ride the mare but failed to make the 56.5kg weight. Olzard got a call up about an hour before the race. She was able to use half her 3kg claim and rode the mare at 55kg. “I told her to ride the mare like she was on the best horse in the race, because she was,” owner-breeder Sharon Thomsen. After a slow getaway Alloutatime found the lead and Olzard never looked back. Wearing a grin as wide as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Olzard sent $2 favourite Alloutatiime to the post for a comfortable win over the well-backed Diddly Squat (Justin Stanley) with Gettin’ Lippy (Georgina Cartwright) filling third place. Thomsen bred Alloutatime is from Gladstone mare Tidy Trim. “She’s my pet and lives on my property and she has been a good producer with every one of her progeny that’s made it to the races a winner,” Thomsen said. Olzard will return as an apprentice to the Green stable at Callaghan Park this week.

Jockey Ryan Wiggins did not take long to atone for missing the Alloutatime ride. He was on board the second winner in a race to race double for Sileas Green. The jockey rode 6YO mare Sundara to a decisive victory in the Benchmark 55 Handicap (1200m). Lightly raced due to chest muscle issues Sundara has been a genuine racehorse for Green winning five of 22 starts. “We had her since she was a yearling but until recently we haven’t been able to put a run of starts together with her due to her problems,” Adrian Come said. The Outreach mare powered away at the end of her race to clearly defeat Discover Gold and Outback Bandit.

THREE WINS IN A ROW FOR SCRUB CHAIN

An $8,000 yearling at the March Magic Millions Sale, Scrub Chain has certainly proved to be a bargain buy for Stewart Nobbs and former jockey John Howard.

They chalked up their third win in a row with the Tom-Smith trained gelding at Callaghan Park on Thursday. By Jungle Cat from Miss Kindilan (Written Tycoon), Scrub Chain has now won well over ten times his purchase price, picking up two victories in Rockhampton and one in Mackay. Ridden By Olivia Kendal, Scrub Chain came from behind to run down the leader Woodstock Rock (Ryan Wiggins) inside the final 200m and drew away to score comfortably. Acedrod (Jackson Murphy) finished third. Smith said he will look to give Scrub Chain one or two more local runs before targeting richer races down south including the QTIS Jewels.

BOYFRIEND MATERIAL GETS ON THE BOARD

Toronado gelding Boyfriend Material provided trainer Nick Walsh with a winner in the Callaghan Park Maiden (1300m).

A striking chestnut with four white socks, Boyfriend Material bought by Wehlow Racing for just $5,500 last September at an online Inglis sale, Boyfriend Material started his career in Victoria and including this race has only started five times. This race was his third in Central Queensland with two previous starts resulting in minor placings in Rockhampton and Mackay. Justin Huxtable rode Boyfriend Material who beat Moment of Truth (Liv O’Donnell) by 2.5 lengths with the same margin back to Ain’t Nobody (Tasha Chambers).

YEPPOON TRAINER UPSETS FAVOURITE BACKERS

Yeppoon’s Allan Jenkinson returned The Last Saga to the winner’s list at its third start this preparation in Thursday’s BM60 Handicap (1400m). Scoring its first victory since May last year, The Last Saga ($14) worried Deciduous (Liv O’Donell) and Imagine That (Tasha Chambers) out of the lion’s share of the prize with $3.30 race favourite Nondisclosure (Ryan Wiggins) doing its best work late in the race to run fourth. The Last Saga who won the Callaghan Park race by just over half a length has a pretty good overall strike rate with four wins from 26 starts. Three of his wins have been in Rockhampton.

RJC LIFE MEMBER RACES TOWARDS HIS 96^th BIRTHDAY

The RJC’s oldest life member Bruce McKenzie turns 96 next week. Mr. McKenzie, an RJC member since the 1940s was born on 17 January 1929 and at the age of 18 raced his first horse Cherry Duchess at Rocky’s Callaghan Park races in 1947. On Thursday Mr. McKenzie was surrounded by his friends at Callaghan Park races, enjoying lunch, friendship, a bet and birthday cake to celebrate the milestone in advance. “I’m 95 not out at the moment, and hope to stay at the crease a little longer yet,” McKenzie said.

RJC CEO, David Aldred.