News & Media

21 January 2008 Noble Steed Wins Mungrup Stud Sprint

Mungrup Stud Sprint day turned out to be one of the best days in the history of the Mt Barker Turf Club from many points of view, certainly from the TAB's viewpoint, it produced record turnover, exceeding that generated by a normal Sunday Bunbury meeting.

The race club was very happy with it's Grapes and Gallops promotion that brought one of the biggest crowds for many a day through the turnstiles and Jim Gilbert of the Mt Barker Wine Producers Association was delighted with the collaboration.

However, it was Dixie Solly, chairman of the Country Racing Association and owner/trainer of the Mungrup Stud Sprint winner Noble Steed, who walked off the course with the biggest smile on his face.

Dixie still had the smile on his face the next day as he recalled the early days with his 'stable star'.  “We took him up on the north west circuit as a youngster and he was hardly more than just broken in, in fact he ran last in a maiden at Port Hedland on debut”

“When jockey Jeremy Hustwitt got off him he said to me with a bit of a tremor in his voice that the horse was 'a bit green',  I replied that he looked 'a bit green' himself”.

“But the horse improved and I'm a great believer that if a horse can perform in the north west it can perform down here, it really toughens them up”

Noble Steed will now be aimed at the provincial sprint double, the Pinjarra Race Club's $75,000 Chaff City Classic to be run at Ascot over 1200m on February 27 and the Bunbury Turf Club's $110,000 Custom Irrigation Bunbury Stakes over 1400m 13 days later.

“You don't get good horses that often and when you do you have to give them every opportunity to show their best, this fellow has already shown that he is up to the likes of Royal Lott and deserves a shot”.

It was the second success in the Sprint for the popular local trainer, he prepared the 1999 winner Northern Blizzard and he thinks that Noble Steed still needs a couple of wins to supplant that galloper as the best he has trained, but it is close.