Rocky Racing Review: One Syndications Newmarket Day – Friday 4th July.

NSW bushy drives 18 hours to watch his horse win the Newmarket

Part-owner Glen Ayre drove 18 hours to see Sha Of Gomer record a stunning victory in Friday’s $100,000 One Syndications Newmarket Handicap (1300m) at Callaghan Park.

Ayre, who lives in country New South Wales with his nearest big town, Mudgee, said he set out a couple of days ago for the trip north.

The driving distance from Mudgee to Rocky in almost 1200km.

“But I’ve driven a little further than that and that win has just made the 18 hours worthwhile,” he said referring to his mammoth drive to Rockhampton.

“They said I’d have to wear shoes to get in, so I got these, pointing to his sneakers, I don’t usually wear shoes around home.”

An excited self-confessed bushy, Ayre prides himself on studying the form and he knew what his horse, trainer and jockey were capable of doing.

“His last run was good,” said Ayre whose previous best result was a win with one of his horses in a Class Two race at Mudgee.

Trained by Jeff Dunn and ridden by Jeff’s wife Rikki Jamieson Sha Of Gomer found a gap in the straight and burst through to triumph.

Dunn said after the five-year-old’s outstanding second to Oughton in the Listed Eye Liner Stakes at Ipswich he tossed up whether to chase the Glasshouse or the Rockhampton Newmarket and thought Rockhampton was the better option.

“I’m glad I chose to come here,” Dunn said. “I thought long and hard about running him at the Sunshine Coast in The Glasshouse.”

Jockey Rikki Jamieson rode a tremendous race. “I didn’t think they were going to let me out, but it all worked out,” she said.

Sha Of Gomer defeated local Cherry Rose (Sean Cormack) by 1-1/2 lengths with He’s Heaven (Paul Hamblin) 2-/14 lengths away in third place.

Bank Maur (Nash Rawiller) who edged out Sha Of Gomer for favouritism, finished fourth, less than 2-1/2 lengths from the winner, after looming as a winning chance with 200m to run.

Jamieson said she won a Listed 2YO race as an apprentice jockey but this has been her biggest win in recent years.

Sha Of Gomer was a $320,000 Magic Millions yearling graduate in 2021 and was former trained by Chris Waller before joining Dunn’s Beaudesert stable. Dunn has the horse racing in career best form. He travelled to Callaghan Park with another Beaudesert-based trainer, Tasmanian, Aiden Nunn, who will saddle Hype in the $150,000 TAB Rockhampton Cup on Saturday. Hype won last year’s Cup and is shooting for back-to-back wins.

The early race favourite Demon Award was scratched by the order of stewards on veterinary advice after the horse arrived on course. Demon Award won the Tattersall’s Sprint two weeks ago at Callaghan Park for five-time Newmarket winning trainer Darryl Hansen.

Toowoomba-based trainers Mark Currie and Pat Webster have paired away to lead the $20,000 TAB Trainer’s Bonus, both training winning doubles.

With points awarded – 3 for a win, 2 for a second and 1 for a third, Mark Currie and Pat Webster have their noses in front on the competition table with 8 points, Liam Birchley is hot on their heels with two winners giving him 6 points, then Jamie McConachy, Shane Sigvart and Jeff Dunn are next with 3 points.

TAB $20,000 – Winner Takes All – Trainers Bonus Table

8 – Mark Currie; Pat Webster

6 – Liam Birchley

3 – Jamie McConachy, Jeff Dunn, Shane Sigvart

The competition continues Saturday at the TAB Rockhampton Cup Day.

RJC CEO, David Aldred