Tatt’s Gold Cup Day Preview: Friday 20 June.

Gilbert can be Golden again on Tatts Cup Day

It’s been a year since six-year-old Gilbert’s Gold won his last race, but his trainer Pat Dillion is confident his next is just around the corner. It could be on Friday, all going well, according to the trainer, who only trains one horse.

Gilbert’s Gold lines up in Ratings Band 0-55 Handicap at the annual Tattersalls Gold Cup and Tattersalls Sprint race meeting.

A Rocky battler, Gilbert’s Gold starts in a race that is a long way from being a headliner on the eight-race card, but a win by the six-year-old gelding would mean as much to Dillion and his wife Louise, as winning the Tatts Gold Cup.

An unfashionably home-bred by little-known deceased stallion Altius (Redoutes Choice – Circles of Gold) from the Dillon’s unraced Bagger Vance mare Vitesse Reine, Gilbert’s Gold has won two races from 19 starts – his maiden in 2023 and a Class 1 at Callaghan Park last June.

Dillion has been encouraged by a recent Rocky trial win, and he reckons he has his mate are back on track, after he pulled up a little off colour at his last start.

In his 1000m trial win, Gilbert’s Gold beat the recent Callaghan Park winner General Hippo.

“He came back this time feeling really good but at his last run, even though he ran ok, he didn’t pull up that well, I think he may have had a virus, so there were excuses for him,” Dillon said.

It wasn’t that long ago that the Callaghan Park trainer ended a 40-year drought. That’s right, forty years without a winner, but to be fair Dillon didn’t train a horse for half of that period.  Gilbert’s Gold was the horse that broke the losing trot.  And, to put the icing on the cake, he got a winning double at that Callaghan Park meeting when Hyperion Star lobbed a couple of hours later.

A retired butcher from Clermont, Dillon who has held a trainer’s brief for half a century, said before Gilbert’s Gold and Hyperion Star got him back winning races a couple of years back, his previous win was back in the 1980s when a horse named Scarlet Bridge won in the Central West.

Celebration drinks have been few and far between but that isn’t fazing Dillon. He knows his horse and he will take “Gilbert” to the races with a spring in his step.

After his trial win, Gilbert’s Gold came back to racing at The Archer race day, 4 May. He had good support in betting for the Milne Bros. Rest. 60 Handicap (1300m) but got pocketed at a vital stage and finished fourth beaten less than two lengths by Kernel Boom who won the race from Spellhound and The Last Saga. In the run where Dillion didn’t think Gilbert’s Gold was 100%, he was second up over 1050m at Callaghan Park on 22 May.

“He had excuses, I don’t think he was right, and he raced three wide with no cover, fading in the run to the line,” Dillon said.

In Friday’s 0-55 Handicap (1200m), Dillon has engaged 3kg claiming apprentice jockey Brooke Johnson.

“Brooke knows the horse well and she was a big part of his early education,” Dillon said. “She knows to ride him quietly, he is a big striding horse, and you cannot get him unbalanced.”

Maybe having the old team together again will be the recipe for the Dillon’s to get back that winning feeling!

Tatt’s Sprint favourite Hell to be saddled by Tom Smith

The One Syndications owned Hell, a popular runner in the $35,000 Great Northern Tattersalls Sprint (1200m) is now with Callaghan Park trainer Tom Smith.

This week QRIC stewards handed down a 12-month disqualification to Nick Walsh after an anabolic steroid was detected in one of his horses.

Walsh was slapped with a trio of 12-month bans relating to the anabolic steroid Stanozolol being detected twice in out of competition testing and once in post-race testing. But stewards ordered the ban to be served concurrently.

Walsh’s best horse has been Hell, which won seven races for Walsh including three in Brisbane since transferring from the Tony and Calvin McEvoy stable in Victoria.

Following the trainers disqualification, Hell and other horses from the stable have joined Smith’s barn.

Smith will also saddle another former Walsh runner Daimyo, also raced by One Syndications in the Great Northern BM65 Handicap (1100m). Hell will be ridden by Ash Butler while apprentice Nikki Olzard partners Daimyo.

Toowoomba’s Paul Wallace saddles up big race performer Ned’s Gully in the Tatt’s Sprint and the trainer has engaged Oliva Kendal to ride him. Ned’s Gully has won seven races and over $377,000.  Jai Williams will ride Demon Award for Darryl Hansen; Ryan Wiggins is on the in-form Early Fusion for Ricky Vale and Ron Stewart rides Early Fusion’s stablemate Track Tale.

Sky forges towards Cup success

Connections of Toowoomba-trained galloper Skyforger are banking on a case of third time lucky in Friday’s $35,000 Tattersalls Gold Cup (1600m) at Callaghan Park.

Trainer Pat Webster has started the 5yo Deep Field gelding in two Cups at the galloper’s last two starts which were three weeks apart. It’s been almost three weeks since Skyforger’s last Cup race where he finished fifth in the Casino Club Beef Week Cup, beaten 3 lengths by Secret Plan over 1400m. He raced in Rocky at his previous run, the Amateur Cup (1600m) where he finished fourth, right on the placed horses’ heels in the Cup won by Executive Stress.

On his best behaviour Skyforger is a definite Tatts Cup hope. You don’t have to look too far back in his form for a “back me next time” run. That was when he finished second on a bottomless Toowoomba track in the King Of The Mountain Consolation (1200m) won by Our Magnus. A versatile type Skyforger handles any type of track conditions with victories on Good to Heavy decks. During the summer he won on a good track at Dalby over 1600m before taking out the Country Cups Challenge Final (1630m) at Doomben on a heavy track. Webster has engaged Justin Huxtable to ride his Cup hope.

Ricky’s has a triple shot at Gold while Cody is out to keep Cup in his possession

Local trainer Ricky Vale chases the Tatts gold with a three-prong attack.

His runners are Logan Street Lion (Ryan Wiggins), Convenor (Raul Silvera Olivera) and Parade Ground (Sean Cormack).

Vale set Parade Ground, last year’s Capricorn Guineas winner, for this race after he won a BM70 (1400m) at Callaghan Park in May. The former Godolphin gelding franked that form with a 1560m Open Handicap win in Mackay at his subsequent start. In that race on 5 June, he narrowly defeated his stablemate Logan Street Lion.

Cody Collis rides the defending Gold Cup winner, Under The Cap for Stuart Kendrick.

Collis steered Under The Cap to a convincing win over Sunfall and Alcyone at Callaghan Park 12 months ago. The duo then placed third behind Hype and Master Jamie in the Rockhampton Cup (1600m) but from four subsequent starts he has not found the winner’s circle.

Sir Grace is on track for a big Rocky Carnival

Trainer/ jockey Warwick Satherley has carefully planned the races for Sir Grace as he treks towards a Rockhampton Cup goal. Satherley would be confident that his horse is at the level he should be now.

Sir Grace has won his past three races – two in Rockhampton and one in Mackay, the latest a 1560m Open Handicap at Ooralea.

Sir Grace (Turn Me Loose – Lady Grace) has been in the prizemoney at 10 of his 12 starts with his biggest success before graduating to Open company, the Rockhampton Country Cup, in April 2024.

The first of 8 races on Tatts Day starts at 12.17pm

• RJC CEO, David Aldred.