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Meeting In Review – Saturday 27 January 2024
Date: 29-Jan-2024
Sweltering heat greeted participants and racegoers at Saturday’s Ipswich Turf Club Recovery Race Day.
Seven races were run and won on the day but not before stewards put all races back one after race 3 due to the sultry conditions.
Toowoomba trainer/jockey combination Mark Currie and Sariah Champkin started the day on the right note for punters.
The duo teamed up with Polylithic in the opening race, the Phillip Groth Benchmark 68 Handicap over 800m.
Fresh off a dominant Gatton win on Monday, the market gravitated to the six-year-old gelding and backed him into a $2 favourite when the gates crashed back.
Despite racing three wide the trip, Polylithic pulled out plenty to defeat Hot Or Not by a head.
Champkin helped herself to a riding double when she teamed up with the Allan Chau-trained Gee Bee Ess in the Seven News Benchmark 60 Handicap.
The apprentice settled her mount fourth the fence before extricating as they entered the straight.
The Testa Rossa gelding rolled out to the centre of the track but let down powerfully to win the 1100m sprint by 0.8L.
Champkin was not the only jockey to ride two winners on the day with Sean Cormack also saluting twice.
Cormack piloted the Jason Patton-trained Shezadandi in the meeting’s only staying test, the TAB Benchmark 65 Handicap.
The six-year-old mare enjoyed a beautiful run in a race that was run to suit those towards the front.
She let down beautifully for Cormack to dash strongly past leader Van Gogh for a half-length win.
It was the first time in over two years that the daughter of Dandino had tasted success.
The multiple Group 1 winning hoop added win number two for the day in the Great Northern Maiden Handicap when he combined with Miss Bacall.
The Paul Jenkins-trained Tivaci mare looked well placed to breakthrough for an overdue win if she could negate the wide gate.
Miss Bacall showed good early speed to settle handy in the 1200m contest.
She loomed upon straightening and within a blink of an eye, put the field away to sprint strongly and win by 3.5 lengths.
Local trainer Trevor Lambourn had cause for celebration when his horse Jenni Inda Jungle landed some good bets.
Opposing jockeys didn’t make it easy for the heavily backed commodity in the Barrier Reefs Pools Fillies & Mares 0-58 Handicap as they applied plenty of pressure in the middle stages of the race.
However, the mare produced plenty in the straight under Yvette Lewis to boot clear and win well by 1.5 lengths.
The win increased Lambourn’s lead to two in this year’s Ipswich Local Trainers Premiership.
While the locals claimed race 6, earlier in the day an interstate trainer landed himself in the winner’s room.
Tamworth trainer Stephen Sutherland has been plying his trade in Queensland for the past month but Saturday’s victory with Jungle Fever in the IEEC.COM.AU Class 2 Handicap was his first in the Sunshine State.
The son of Animal Kingdom was the $15 outsider in the small field but that didn’t stop him from running his more fancied rivals into the ground for an all the way length win.
Sian Star stormed home down the middle of the track to claim the final event of the day for Sunshine Coast trainer Darryl Hansen.
We will host yet another Saturday meeting next weekend on the 3rd of February.
By Craig Sheppard
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