Rockhampton Racing Review: Thursday 5th February, 2026

Favourites on the outer at Callaghan Park

Punters couldn’t take a trick early at Callaghan Park on Thursday with seven favourites, including three at odds on, beaten on the eight-race card.

Turbo Torque ($1.45) finished third in the Great Northern QTIS Maiden, Paciera ($1.80) was fifth in the TAB QTIS Maiden and Presocratics ($1.90) was runner-up in the DLV BM72 Handicap. Other beaten favourites were Lover Nota Fighter ($3.80) who ran seventh, beating just four horses home in the Hotondo Homes QTIS Maiden, Savvy Bee ($3.00) placed third in the Cleanaway BM65 Handicap, Ten Carat Lucy ($2.00) in the Keppel Developments Class 1 Handicap, and Flying Animo ran sixth in the RJC St Patrick’s Day On Sale QTIS BM60.

The only favourite to win all day was in the sixth race, the CR & R Communications Handicap. Obligated was the horse to snap the run of outs.

Trained by Lyle Wright, Obligated was ridden by Sean Cormack. He started a well-supported favourite at $1.75.

King Spirit halts Presocratics winning run

Presocratics may have been a touch unlucky after missing the start in the 1050m DLV BM72 dash.

A winner at its only two previous Rockhampton starts, the Gary Clem-trained gelding dawdled out of the barriers before coming with a late run in the straight.

Ridden by Jason Taylor, Presocratics didn’t have the necessary sprint left in him to reel in the Sunshine Coast, Stuart Kendrick-trained 3YO King Spirit, ridden by Stephanie Tierney. King Spirit ($6.50) scored its fourth win from 19 starts, winning by more than a length from Presocratics. Local galloper Kai Mondo (Tom Orr-$3.20) finished third. Kendrick Racing purchased King Spirit at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $80,000. Bred by Baramul Stud the 4YO gelding is by Spirit of Boom from Kakakakatie.

Apprentice Tierney gets a winning double on Kendrick runners

Sunshine Coast Apprentice Stephanie Tierney is loving coming to Callaghan Park, riding her third winner from the last two Rockhampton race meetings, and on Thursday posted a winning double.

Sporting a huge grin Tierney trotted Italian Dancer, the Stuart Kendrick-trained stablemate of her previous winner King Spirit, back to scale. Tierney controlled the 1500m Cleanaway BM65 Handicap on the 4YO Dundeel gelding. Italian Dancer came into the 600m Callaghan Park straight with a four-length lead, that margin was cut back to a length by Replace the Ace (Cody Collis) halfway up the straight, but the winner found another gear and kicked away to win decisively. Italian Dancer had support at $3.80, as did the runner-up Replace The Ace ($3.70) but the Mark Currie trained Savy Bee, ridden behind by Rob Thorburn, started the $3.00 favourite and the best he could do was third place.

Kendrick now sits in second place on the RJC Trainers Premiership ladder. He has seven winners for the season so far, 12 behind the top trainer Clinton Taylor.

2YO takes on older horses and beats them

Trainer Kris Hansen rolled the dice with his promising two-year-old filly Ready Marea and was rewarded for his courage in the Hotondo Homes QTIS Maiden Plate (1050m).

Hansen knew the filly was talented and as late as last week was considering debuting in Brisbane on Saturday.

“I looked at this race and thought it was winnable, and here we are,” Hansen said.

In a battle of this season leading jockeys, Chris McIver got the photo finish result on Ready Marea ($8.00) over Ryan Wiggins who rode Anthropology ($6.00) with Villandry (Paul Hamblin – $17.00) a whisker away in third place. The $3.60 favourite Lover Nota Fighter ran seventh of the 11 starters.

“I thought she would go close, based on what she has shown me so far, and for her to beat the older horses is as good a sign that she is a pretty smart young horse, there will be another nice race for her soon,” Hansen said.

Ready Marea, a $25,000 graduate of the 2025 Capricornia Yearling Sale, is raced by Fred Noffke who also races the very smart three-year-old Group 2 winner, Sheza Alibi, who looks a top contender for the Melbourne autumn races.

The Callaghan Park win elevated McIver to a one victory lead over Ryan Wiggins in the 2025/26 RJC Jockey Premiership.

Emerald-trained gelding gets a win at 18^th start

Ready Lightly, described by jockey Tahlia Fenlon, as a lazy horse, broke through for its first race win at its 18^th race start in the Great Northern QTIS Maiden Handicap (1500m).

The Better Than Ready 4YO, trained at Emerald by Glenda Bell, knuckled down to his task late in the race to claim the front runners Heroic Talent and Turbo Torque on the line. He rushed quickly to win by half a length with a half neck separating the minor placegetters. Despite being placed twice at Callaghan Park in December and January, Ready Lightly wasn’t on the punters’ radar and started at $18.00. Runner-up Heroic Talent (Raul Silvera Olivera) was an $11.00 hope while the third placegetter Turbo Torque (Ryan Wiggins) was the short-priced $1.45 favourite. Ready Lightly, a $50,000, 2023 Magic Millions March Yearling Sale graduate, was purchased by Bell for $6,500 online in December 2024.

“That’s exactly the way you have to ride him,” Bell told Fenlon praising her ride after the race.

Fenlon said Ready Lightly was “just playing”.

“I think you should put the blinkers on him,” Fenlon suggested to Bell. “It might make him concentrate.”

Manzelmann’s girl, a maiden no longer

Mackay filly Girls Got Attitude has been promising to win a race and found groove to win the QTIS 3YO Maiden (1200m), giving jockey Sean Cormack an easy ride.

The Lachie Manzelmann trained Kobayashi filly started at $4.00 and won by a length from Sunshine Coast-trained Precise Torque (Stephanie Tierney – $4.00) with the winner’s stablemate Ready and Betta (Fred Larson – $26.00) in third place. The short-priced favourite Paciera finished fifth.

Stable spokesperson and part-owner of Girl’s Got Attitude Jade Doolan was pleased with the win and also over the moon with the improved performance of Ready And Betta.

“I am actually more delighted about the third horse, that improvement is what we wanted to see,” she said. Girls Got Attitude was picked up by John Manzelmann after being passed in at the 2024 Magic Millions March Yearling Sale.

Cormack gives favourite backers something to cheer for

It took six races before the first favourite, $1.75 chance, Obligated saluted in the C & R Communications Handicap (1300m).

Cormack got Obligated to relax beautifully and he chased the leader Tizso Fab into the straight.

He did everything right and once I got to the leader’s hindquarters, he wasn’t going to be beaten,” Cormack said. The Lord of the Sky 4YO has been in great touch with three wins from its last four starts. Obligated scored by a length from Tizso Fab (Tahlia Fenlon-$2.70) with Moktaffy (Warwick Satherley – $12.00), beaten almost four lengths, running third.

“The race played out how we thought it would,” part-owner Ian Butler said. “We knew Tizso Fab would lead and just hoped we would be good enough to run him down.”

Obligated has previously had success in Mackay and Townsville but this was his first Callaghan Park win. His overall record is very good. 21 starts for nine wins and six placings.

Fixer Upper, Stephens’ hero after Callaghan Park victory

Discarded 4YO Gotta Hero made his way back to Rockhampton to find the winners’ circle for trainer John Stephens.

“No one wanted him, so I told his previous owner that I would take him,” Stephens said. “He has been a project, fixing him up, getting him healthy and happy.”

Gotta Hero’s only win before joining Stephens stable was at Dingo in 2024.

Stephens scored a win with him in Gladstone late last year, then was unlucky not to win a couple of weeks ago at Thangool.

Three-kilo claiming apprentice Amy Graham rode the $31.00 longshot at Callaghan Park, taking a rails run to land the prize in the Keppel Developments Class 1 Handicap (1100m). There was nothing between three runners when they hit the line. Gotta Hero beat the $2.00 favourite Ten Carat Lucy by a long neck with Rum Rumble (McKenzie Apel – $7.50) a head away in third place.

Graham doubles up

Amy Graham completed a winning double on the eight-race program partnering Amberinger to victory in the RJC St Patrick’s Day On Sale BM 60 Handicap (1200m).

Trained at Yeppoon by Allan Jenkinson, Amberinger came with a late rush close to the line. Graham said she dropped a rein in the straight but gathered it in quickly to steer Amberinger home.

“She’s a good mare,” Jenkinson said. It was the home-bred Amberinger’s fourth win from 24 starts. She is by Brabinger from Charcoal Melody, another mare Jenkinson trained.

It was a close finish with Amberinger ($7.50) beating Heart And Spirit (Stephanie Tierney – $3.60) by a half-length with Melo Melo Kava (Adam Sewell – $26.00) close up in third place.

• David Aldred CEO – RJC