Turnbull set to maintain family tradition
Turnbull set to maintain family tradition
Forty-one years ago renowned Bathurst trainer Tony Turnbull drove Hondo Grattan to victory on the opening night of Inter Dominion heats at Gloucester Park — before ending the carnival with Hondo Grattan scoring a convincing victory over Adios Victor and Royal Gaze in the grand final.
At Gloucester Park on Friday night Turnbull’s 25-year-old granddaughter Amanda Turnbull will be anxious to follow the family tradition by winning a heat on the opening night of the $1.8 million TABtouch interdominion championship.
She will drive the speedy seven-year-old Mach Beauty for the first time in a race when the New South Wales-bred gelding contests the Kai Construction interdominion heat three.
Turnbull was offered the drive by trainer Shane Tritton after his partner and star reinswoman Lauren Panella was suspended for 11 days for causing interference in a race at Harold Park last Saturday night.
Turnbull comes to Perth on a crest of a wave after landing a treble on three consecutive days in NSW — scoring with Power of Red, Cruisonthe Big Ern and Intransit at Menangle last Friday, with McArdles Chance, Betabcool and Lamorak in successive events at Menangle on Saturday and with Happy To Go, Oh I Am The One and Lap Dancer at Blayney on Sunday.
Turnbull, who in June of last year at the age of 24 became the youngest Australian to drive 1000 winners, will have only one thought in her mind when the mobile barrier releases the ten runners in Friday night’s 2130m heat. She will be determined to make the most of Mach Beauty’s dazzling gate speed in a bid to burst past the three smart beginners on her inside, Lovers Delight, Bettors Fire and Northview Punter.
Mach Beauty is a flying machine and has charged to the front from wide barriers many times. Seventeen of his 21 wins have come after he has set the pace.
Star Victorian pacer Philadelphia Man, a winner at 22 of his 44 starts, is the pre-post favourite for Friday night’s heat, but he faces a moment of truth against Mach Beauty, who charged to the front from the No. 8 barrier, set the pace with quarters of 26.9sec., 27.9sec., 27.2sec. and 28.9sec. and held on to win at a 1.50.9 rate over 1609m at Menangle at his latest appearance, on October 31. He held on to win by a nose from Freyberg, with Popfromthebeach a half-head away in third place.
And Mach Beauty warmed up for this week’s race with a sparkling lone workout at Gloucester Park last Friday night when he was driven by Gary Hall jun. and rated a fast 1.53.7 over 2130m, just 1.1sec. outside Classic American’s track record.
Hall has a great deal of respect for Mach Beauty. He had to drive champion Im Themightyquinn hard to get up and defeat the flying pacemaker Mach Beauty by a half-length, rating 1.50.4 in the group 2 Sunshine Sprint over 1660m at Albion Park in July 2014. Two weeks later on the same track Im Themightyquinn contested his final race, the group 1 2680m Blacks A Fake Classic, in which he beat Avonnova and Mach Beauty .
The Emma Stewart-trained Philadelphia Man, to be driven by Gavin Lang, certainly cannot be underestimated. He is a versatile horse who has won many races after working hard out three wide and in the breeze.
Nine-year-old free-legged pacer Avonnova is in the twilight of his career (45 wins from 133 starts) and he is sure to be prominent as the only back-line runner. His thirds behind Our Hi Jinx at Albion Park and Lennytheshark at Melton at his latest outings were solid efforts.
Local pacers Lovers Delight (barrier one) and Bettors Fire (two) are drawn to be prominent and should prove hard to beat.
Lovers Delight relishes a pacemaking role and Chris Lewis is sure to attempt to take up the running with the eight-year-old who warmed up for this week’s assignment with a smart all-the-way win in a 2100m trial at Bunbury’s Donaldson Park last Saturday night. He sped over the final quarter in 27sec.
Bettors Fire, a winner at three of his past four starts for trainer-reinsman Kyle Harper, has had an interrupted preparation. He was a fast-finishing fourth behind Waylade at Gloucester Park last Friday week and will have many admirers.
Ken Casellas
perthinterdominion.com.au
TABtouch Perth Inter Dominion Heat 1 – View TABtouch Markets
POS | Race 4 @ 7:03pm | $ |
---|---|---|
1 | Machtu (NZ) | 7 |
2 | Waylade (NZ) | 1.4 |
3 | Shannonsablast | 17 |
4 | Devendra | 9 |
5 | For A Reason | 41 |
6 | Libertybelle Midfrew | 21 |
7 | Easy on the Eye (NZ) | 41 |
8 | Our Hi Jinx (NZ) | 26 |
9 | Dynamite Dude | 101 |
10 (2L) | Jason Rulz (NZ) | 9 |
TABtouch Perth Inter Dominion Heat 2 – View TABtouch Markets
POS | Race 6 @ 8:03pm | $ |
---|---|---|
1 | Our Blackbird (NZ) | 8 |
2 | Flaming Flutter (NZ) | 5.5 |
3 | Five Star Anvil (NZ) | 26 |
4 | My Hard Copy (NZ) | 7 |
5 | Billies A Star (NZ) | 9 |
6 | Classic American (NZ) | 51 |
7 | Lennytheshark | 1.7 |
8 | Major Crocker | 21 |
9 | Blazin N Cullen (NZ) | 51 |
10 (2L) | Mach Alert (NZ) | 21 |
TABtouch Perth Inter Dominion Heat 3 – View TABtouch Markets
POS | Race 8 @ 9:00pm | $ |
---|---|---|
1 | Lovers Delight (NZ) | 11 |
2 | Bettors Fire (NZ) | 4.5 |
3 | Northview Punter (NZ) | 31 |
4 | Mach Beauty | 3 |
5 | Meadowbranch DJ | 201 |
6 | Philadelphia Man | 2.8 |
7 | Crusader Banner (NZ) | 26 |
8 | Cold Major | 51 |
9 | Franco Ledger (NZ) | 26 |
10 (2L) | Avonnova | 9 |