Rockhampton Racing Preview: Thursday 5th February, 2026.

Bundy’s shooting star vying for three straight victories

With two wins from two starts at Callaghan Park, Presocratics looks to be a horse on the way up.

Bundaberg trainer Gary Clem may put a picket fence of wins beside his new-found rising star’s name in Thursday’s DLV Finance BM 72 Handicap (1050m).

Clem, who has had some good horses travelling the Queensland circuit in recent years including King Klaus, who won 16 races and well over $300,000, and more recently, the dapple-grey gelding Frosty Bear, who is still racing well, believes Presocratics is a worthy successor to that duo. “He could be another King Klaus, I don’t think we’ve seen anywhere near the best of him yet,” Clem said after his second win in Rocky, last month.

Raced by Frosty Bear’s owner Brendan “Pedro” Petersen, Presocratics has already been described by jockey Jason Taylor as a “Mini-King Klaus.”

Taylor has been in the saddle of Presocratics for both recent Rockhampton wins and Clem would need a crowbar to get him off the horse. Not that he would want to, Clem and Taylor have enjoyed a pretty good winning partnership over the years.

Hobby-trainer Clem prepares a team of five at Bundaberg, and Presocratics with Taylor aboard, will be his lone runner at Callaghan Park.

The former Melbourne galloper, a half-brother to Chris Waller’s four-time Sydney winner Unstopabull, was purchased by Petersen for $50,000 and joined the Clem stable in the spring. He is well named by the stallion Written By, from the I am Invincible mare Shoreline.

After winning an official trial at Callaghan Park in November he won first up here over 1050m on 18 December. He quickly graduated from winning the Class 1 & Maiden Plate to winning his very next start at Callaghan Park, a Class 4 Handicap (1200m) on 8 January. Racing up to hit the front 200m from home Presocratics held the others at bay to score by half a length over Answering and Darling Clementine.

This assignment, his third in Queensland, is his toughest to date, and the only question mark is, is he stepping through the classes too quickly? The betting suggests punters will be in his corner again.

The field is not big, but the opposition is handy. Smiling Zac, Mark Currie’s Country Stampede winner at Doomben a couple of months ago looks well placed to return to the winners’ list, two-time SEQ provincial track winning 3YO, King Spirit, has shown promise and local Kai Mondo, trained by Tom Bourke, will be out to atone for a narrow last start defeat in Townsville.

The eight-race Callaghan Park racing program starts at 12.57 pm on Thursday.

Official RJC Trials and Jump Outs will be held at Callaghan Park on Friday morning.

• David Aldred CEO – RJC