Rockhampton Racing Review: Tuesday 24th March, 2026

The Taylor and Cormack show on Tuesday in Rockhampton

Berserker trainer Clinton Taylor increased his long lead in the Rockhampton Trainer’s Premiership with a winning treble at Callaghan Park today.

Taylor struck early, winning the first and second races and brought up his third win in race six. Sean Cormack rode each of the stable’s winners.

Taylor has trained 21 winners this season, well clear of his nearest rival Sunshine Coast trainer Stuart Kendrick (13 wins). Sean Cormack has ridden 10 winners and is now fourth on the Jockey Premiership table.

Baby Winx blows them away at Callaghan Park

Around Clinton Taylor’s stables she’s been christened ‘Baby Winx’ and at Callaghan Park on Tuesday, the two-year-old filly Missile Baby delivered a first-class performance to win on debut in the TAB QTIS 2YO Handicap (1100m).

In a real knockout blow to favourite punters, Missile Baby (Sean Cormack – $12) raced by an all-girls syndicate with owners as far away as Victoria, came with a big late finish to beat its stablemate Coal Seam (Ryan Wiggins – $11) by a neck with Barbarian King (Adam Sewell – $26) two lengths away third.

In a shock result, the odds-on favourite Wasabi Barbie (Chris McIver – $1.35), who was recently sold to continue its career in the USA, missed the top three, finishing in fifth place.

Managing owner Erin Taylor, said apprentice jockey Nikki Olzard does all the work with Missile Baby, and the apprentice jockey has christened her Baby Winx.

“If I wasn’t suspended, I would have been on her,” Olzard, the strapper for the day, quipped.

Jockey Sean Cormack praised the Smart Missile filly. “She had no right to win from back there,” Cormack said.

Taylor was hoping to just pick up prizemoney with Missile Baby, to get her into the field for next month’s $168,000 Capricornia Classic at Callaghan Park.

The Capricornia 2YO Classic (1200m) is a sales exclusive race for graduates of the 2025 CYS Sale.

She was presented by Emmanuel Bloodstock at the 2025 sale and sold to Taylor for $30,000. The first foal of Look Out Baby, Missile Baby is from a terrific family of American race winners including stakes winners City Attraction, Grace’s Treasure and Mister Marti Gras.

The Capricornia 2YO Classic is shaping to be a terrific race with $500,000 QTIS Jewel winner Swift Dragon and smart Townsville galloper Better Blitzem, placed third in the QTIS Jewel also heading for the race on 11 April at Callaghan Park.

Taylor and Cormack double up to start the program

It didn’t take long for Clinton Taylor and Sean Cormack to post a winning double.

Thirty-five minutes after opening the program the duo combined with up and comer Pride Of Venus to win the Open Handicap (1100m). And once again the Taylor camp put favourite punters back in their seats.

Pride Of Venus ($4.20) defeated King Spirit (Steph Tierney – $1.90) by a half head with Saraqael (Warwick Satherley – $5.50) doing its best work at the finish to run third two lengths from the winner.

“She is a winner, she just wants to win,” Cormack told Taylor as he unsaddled the winner. Taylor agreed saying, “She is a real trier, isn’t she? In a dogfight, I’d want to back her.”

The Pride of Dubai – I am Venus four-year-old mare won in Townsville in February before heading to Brisbane to finish fifth at Eagle Farm earlier this month.

Buoyed by that run, Taylor openly said in a pre-race radio interview that he thought the mare was well over the odds.

I think she is developing into a nice Rockhampton Newmarket and Cleveland Bay contender, she reminds me a lot of Honkytonk Diva and will be on the same path, with the big sprints here and north possible targets” he said.

Honkytonk Diva won the 2025 Rockhampton Newmarket Handicap.

Pride of Venus was purchased at the Magic Millions 2023 Gold Coast National Sale for $12,000 and has done well since entering Taylor’s stable. She has now won close to $90,000 with six wins from 16 starts.

And then, it was three for the Taylor stable

Clinton Taylor and Sean Cormack didn’t rest on their laurels and at the back end of the program collected a third win with former North Queensland galloper Smart Mission.

Smart Mission is a welcome addition to the Taylor stable and took its race record to three wins from 13 starts in the Supagas BM60 Handicap (1300m).

The $3.10 favourite defeated Kerrod Smyth’s Sujeed (Ryan Wiggins – $3.20) by a half length with the John Wigginton-trained Electric Brae (Tom Orr – $12.00)  3-1/2 lengths away in third place.

Cormack was second-guessing himself during the run home and told Taylor he thought he went too early.

I knew he was first-up but he did everything right and he was beautiful,” Cormack said. Smart Mission has won over a mile in Townsville and Taylor expects the gelding will be even stronger over a longer journey.

Smart Mission, a son of The Mission is a good story. So far he has won around $60,000.

His mother Early was sold three times as a broodmare each time for less than $2,000 and the last two times for $1,000. Bred by Kenmore Lodge, Smart Mission went through the 2023 Gold Coast March Sale and was purchased by Summerset Pastoral for $18,000. He has won at each of his two, three and four-year-old preparations.

Shannon shines with Flamingo stealing the show

Local trainer Ross Shannon, who has just two horses in work at Callaghan Park, was delighted to be back in the winner’s circle with his filly Leica Flamingo winning at its seventh race start in the MP Security QTIS Maiden Handicap (1400m).

Starting at odds of $6.50 Leica Flamingo capitalised on its promising lead up form for a game length victory over Turbo Torque (Steph Tierney – $3.60 fav) with San Jaun (Adam Sewell – $6.50) a bit over a length away in third place.

Shannon said his filly wasn’t going to go down without a fight this time, referring to her previous start when she was out bobbed by I’m Not A Grey at Callaghan Park.

Shannon bought the mare Ara Star, by Hussonet, in foal to Showtime and Leica Flamingo is the result.

McIver agreed. “She got to the front and wanted to keep on going,” he said.

Leica Flamingo is by ‘Group placed sprinter Showtime (by Snitzel) from Ara Star.

Ara Star, a $130,000 2010 Magic Millions yearling sale graduate, failed to win from six starts. She was first offered as a broodmare in 2019. Shannon bought her privately after she was one of 47 mares served by Showtime at Arrowfield Stud that season.

Six-year-old New Zealand gelding Bo Bo Beware scored its fifth race win in the BM62 Handicap (1600m) showing plenty of courage to stall off determined finishers.

Part-owner Heidi Butler lost her voice, yelling loudly from the Callaghan Park carpark to encourage her horse home. Heidi almost missed the race, she was running late after taking her young daughter Tahnae to the dentist. Both were smiling when the galloper won.

Ridden a treat by Warwick Satherley, Bo Bo Beware ($5.00) is in its third preparation for Butler’s sister Zoe Hohn and relished the step-up to the metric mile to defeat fast finisher General Wolffe (Amy Graham – $5.50) with Spirit Talker (Chris McIver – $18) in third place. The $3.00 favourite Out of Aces finished in fourth place.

Bo Bo Beware, a six-year-old gelding by Dundeel from the Redoute’s Choice mare Unforgivable, started his career in Rocky with Kerrod Smyth before being purchased by the Hohns.

He has been a good money spinner for the stable.

Elvis arrived ready to Rock N Roll in Rocky

Elvis has entered the building!

Better Than Presley made a great impression at his first Rockhampton start for his new group of owners in the Jamie Parnell Psychology Class 1 Handicap (1050m).

In a determined effort Better Than Presley ($5) was baulked in the run home, but apprentice jockey Gabby Semmens was still able to guide him to the post first.

The former Gold Coast galloper is now trained at Emerald by Ray Williams.

The 4YO gelding charged at race leader Tenner (McKenzie Apel – $6) close to the line and wasn’t put off by a little dipsy doodle by the front runner and managed to get the upper hand in the run to the line.

“We will be back again,” the happy group of owners who gave their new galloper the stable name Elvis, said.

His trainer also praised the horse. “He has had a couple of little feet problems, he did everything wrong, hung in a bit and still won,” Williams said.

It was Better Than Presley’s first start after winning at the Gold Coast last November. Better Than Presley was a $120,000 yearling at the Magic Millions Sale Book 2 three years ago, but his new owners got him for a lot cheaper than that when they bought him for $20,000 from Sears Racing.

The gelding is by Better Than Ready from Bellanca, the family of stakes horses Champagne Harmony, Grace And Harmony St Reims, Champagne and Bonneval. His younger full sister sold for $17,000 at the Magic Millions Book 2 Sale, this year.

Saddles back in the winner’s circle

Roy Thompson returned six-year-old galloper Saddles back into winning form to close out the seven-race program with a victory in the Melissa-Gaya Designs 0-55 Handicap (1400m).

Thompson who has had saddles for about five starts adopted new tactics with Saddles and told apprentice jockey Amy Graham “to give the horse plenty of room.”

Graham did exactly that.

Saddles came down the extreme outside of the field close to the outside fence to snatch victory in the last few bounds. The $12 outsider defeated the more fancied Hou Long Gwai (McKenzie Apel – $4) by a length with Villandry (Adam Sewell – $4) racing closer to the rails to hang on to third place. The $3.10 favourite Badlifedecision finished fifth.

Thompson only trains a couple of horses as a hobby and was thrilled to get the win.

“The track looked to be better out wide, and I knew that would suit him coming home at the finish,” the trainer said.

Like the previous race winner Smart Mission, Saddles is a son of The Mission and was a really cheap buy when he was first sold at auction. His purchase price was $1,000.

He has passed through a few hands since then. Now the winner of five races, Saddles has earned close to $90,000.

• David Aldred CEO