Ron Macrae was a happy man at Ipswich yesterday.
The Toowoomba based trainer combined with young apprentice Cameron Dixon to secure a double at the meeting, winning with the promising Bonza Bronze before taking out the day’s feature event with the ever-consistent West Of Hollywood.
Dixon was superb on both mounts. He produced Bonza Bronze with perfect timing to seal victory late in the running in an 800m dash and then he showed how to overcome the disadvantages of a bad draw while still leaving something in the tank as he got West Of Hollywood to kick on late to land an overdue success in the Ipswich RSL Legacy Cup.
This was Dixon’s second TAB double. His first double came at Toowoomba.
For Macrae, Bonza Bronze’s win brought bitter-sweet emotions. It evoked the memory of that tragic day in June last year when Macrae’s smart colt Bonza Crop crashed to the turf and had to be euthanized.
The loss of Bonza Crop devastated both Macrae and the colt’s owners but they continued to move forward and, with only one change in the list of owners, they all shared in Bonza Bronze’s Maiden success yesterday.
“If he could be anywhere near as good as Bonza Crop I would be every happy,” said Macrae.
Bonza Bronze was winning at only his third time of asking and had featured in the betting in both of his previous starts.
“I thought he would win last time,” said Macrae, talking about the run on the cushion track at the Sunshine Coast where Bonza Bronze trailed in a distance sixteen lengths behind the winner.
“He came back shin sore there though,” continued Macrae. “In fact I’ve had a few problems with him being shin sore. So I’ve been struggling with him a bit. But today he put it all together.
“I’m going to give him a spell now. It’s nice to be able to do that with a win behind you.
“I would expect him to come back a lot better and a lot stronger,” warned Macrae.
Macrae was equally pleased with the win of West Of Hollywood.
“I was very worried about the draw,” admitted Macrae, “but the youngster (Dixon) did a great job."
It was West Of Hollywood’s third win from eleven starts and the fact that she also has four runner-up finishes to her credit underlines her consistency.
In fact West Of Hollywood has finished in the first two placings on all but one occasion in her six starts this year – and that was when she was ‘in season’.
West Of Hollywood’s recent run of runner-up finishes includes races in which she was beaten by She’s In The Guide and Hirsute, both above average performers on their day.
That West Of Honour, even allowing for the draw, was allowed to start at the odds she did was perhaps the only mystery of the race.
All the more for Macrae to smile about!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
WELCOME HOME DANNY BOUGOURE
He has always gone about his business in a quiet, professional manner. Never flash. ... always humble, which is probably the reason why Danny Bougoure’s return home has largely slipped under the radar.
The man who helped give Queenslanders some of their proudest moments with his exploits with the mighty Falvelon – two successive Doomben 10 000 victories as well as an International Sprint success in Hong Kong – is back from a four year long sojourn in Melbourne.
Bougoure took the last couple of months off to recharge, regroup and resettle, before getting back to business this week, kicking off the next stage of his training career and taking on the new challenge in the familiar surroundings of Eagle Farm.
“People tried to point me towards the Sunshine Coast,” said Bougoure. “They thought that was the way to go in terms of training facilities. But I trained at Eagle Farm before and know the conditions pretty well so it was logical for me to go back there.”
Was Bougoure ever tempted by the supposed advantages of the Cushion Track at the Sunshine Coast?
“Not at all,” was Bougoure’s straight reply. A further shrug of the shoulders suggested that the merit of that track should be left for others to debate.
Bougoure has taken ten boxes at Eagle Farm and currently has six horses in his care.
“I was offered eighteen boxes and pressed to take them, but that would have put me under unnecessary pressure,” explained Bougoure. “I said I was happy to pay for ten, even though I had less horses than that, and that’s the way the deal stands at the moment.
“Eagle Farm is the ideal location,” continued Bougoure. “Eagle Farm and Doomben are obviously right there. Then it’s not that big a trip either down to the Gold Coast and Ipswich or up to the Sunshine Coast. To me it is just the right centre to be at.”
So how was his time in Melbourne and why did Bougoure make the decision to return to Queensland?
“Training anywhere is a tough proposition,” answered Bougoure, “and obviously Melbourne is no different. It’s always competitive. It’s always difficult.
“I made some very good friends down there ... some will probably stay friends for life. But the bottom line for me came down to the lifestyle,” continued Bougoure. “The decision was that simple.
“I did give it a full go. I tried to see the good side down there, but, if you grew up in Queensland and were used to enjoying what we have here, Victoria can’t compare. You simply can’t beat the lifestyle in Queensland – and that’s why I am back.”
Many race-goers will be pleased that he is.
The man who helped give Queenslanders some of their proudest moments with his exploits with the mighty Falvelon – two successive Doomben 10 000 victories as well as an International Sprint success in Hong Kong – is back from a four year long sojourn in Melbourne.
Bougoure took the last couple of months off to recharge, regroup and resettle, before getting back to business this week, kicking off the next stage of his training career and taking on the new challenge in the familiar surroundings of Eagle Farm.
“People tried to point me towards the Sunshine Coast,” said Bougoure. “They thought that was the way to go in terms of training facilities. But I trained at Eagle Farm before and know the conditions pretty well so it was logical for me to go back there.”
Was Bougoure ever tempted by the supposed advantages of the Cushion Track at the Sunshine Coast?
“Not at all,” was Bougoure’s straight reply. A further shrug of the shoulders suggested that the merit of that track should be left for others to debate.
Bougoure has taken ten boxes at Eagle Farm and currently has six horses in his care.
“I was offered eighteen boxes and pressed to take them, but that would have put me under unnecessary pressure,” explained Bougoure. “I said I was happy to pay for ten, even though I had less horses than that, and that’s the way the deal stands at the moment.
“Eagle Farm is the ideal location,” continued Bougoure. “Eagle Farm and Doomben are obviously right there. Then it’s not that big a trip either down to the Gold Coast and Ipswich or up to the Sunshine Coast. To me it is just the right centre to be at.”
So how was his time in Melbourne and why did Bougoure make the decision to return to Queensland?
“Training anywhere is a tough proposition,” answered Bougoure, “and obviously Melbourne is no different. It’s always competitive. It’s always difficult.
“I made some very good friends down there ... some will probably stay friends for life. But the bottom line for me came down to the lifestyle,” continued Bougoure. “The decision was that simple.
“I did give it a full go. I tried to see the good side down there, but, if you grew up in Queensland and were used to enjoying what we have here, Victoria can’t compare. You simply can’t beat the lifestyle in Queensland – and that’s why I am back.”
Many race-goers will be pleased that he is.
Monday, August 18, 2008
PIPER CALLS THE TUNE
It was hard to stop Jana Piper from jumping out of her skin at the Sunshine Coast yesterday.
Her smile got bigger with each passing winner. Her body language became more animated with each visit to the winners’ enclosure and there was a spring in her step that showed just how much pleasure she was taking from the day in which she brought home the first hat trick of her race riding career.
“I’m on fire,” laughed Piper, thoroughly enjoying the moment.
The fact that Piper has displayed a recent, rapid rate of progress is no accident.
Behind the scenes, the young rider has been hard at work with her mentor, trainer Lloyd Brazier, whose stable she joined on a full time basis some five months ago.
That was a move which will forever have an impact on her future because Brazier’s commitment to helping the young rider to get ahead has already almost gone beyond the call of duty.
“I started with Troy (Hall) who was the one who first suggested that I become a jockey,” said Piper. “It was nobody’s fault, but I struggled there. It was probably too big a stable for me at the time. Troy’s got bigger owners and they bring priorities, which I understand.
“I needed a smaller yard,” continued Piper. “Lloyd has seven horses in training and from the moment he took me on things started to change for me.
“It has now reached the stage where Lloyd sort of works everything around my involvement. I get the choice of rides. If we feel something might not be good enough to feature, he’ll let me take an outside ride.
“We’ll give our horses some days off. That gives me free time to ride work for other trainers. That helps lift my profile, which is why I get a fair book of rides each week at the Sunshine Coast.”
But it is not just by allowing her greater involvement in the regular everyday routine of the stable, which boosted her confidence, that Brazier has altered Piper’s career course.
Brazier’s influence is most prominent as the guiding hand that has shadowed Piper throughout her steep learning curve, both in terms of the development of her riding skills and the strengthening of mental ability to cope with adversity.
A nervous beginning ... tough criticism ... formal censure. These were all hurdles that had to be overcome.
Lloyd Brazier takes up the story.
“Basically, at the start, Jana didn’t know too much about what she was doing,” volunteered Brazier, “and she copped a lot of heat for that.
“The Stewards were on her case ... sometimes rightly, sometimes wrongly. We went to appeal twice when we thought they were wrong. Won one, lost one.
“But she was learning you know. It was really a tough time for her because she kept getting called in. Going into that room can be quite daunting for a young apprentice let me tell you.”
Enough to break a young jockey’s spirit I suggested.
“It almost did,” admitted Piper.
“They just kept giving me time ... you know ten meetings, twelve meetings. And even when we won one on appeal, I still did the seven meetings because they wouldn’t give me a stay of proceedings.
“And all of this while I was trying to compete against the likes of Glen Colless or Scotty Seamer when they came to ride at the coast.
"Riding against them was enough to flatten your confidence. Then being called in all the time added to my frustration. In those circumstances, you start to wonder what you are doing here.
“I was close to quitting, but Lloyd talked some sense into my head. He told me to stay positive. He said we’d get through it. He was just so supportive.”
Brazier did confirm that he and Piper had some meetings with the Stewards to try and gain a thorough understanding of their concerns about Piper’s riding so they could work at addressing them.
And Brazier, a former rider, is still talking, advising, encouraging.
“We talk every day,” said Brazier. “I tell her what she did wrong and why she got in that position. I tell her what she did right and the kind of things she must be aware of in a race.
“Then we do it some more the next day ... and the next day ... and the next. You just never stop learning and it’s an advantage if you can have someone pointing things out to you who has your well-being at heart, but who will point out your faults so that you can correct them.
“I’ve taught her how to conduct herself, and told her how not to conduct herself, with the stewards and owners. And the beauty of it all is that she listens and learns. That is why she is starting to get ahead.
“I’ve always told her to enjoy her successes when she has them, but also to always remember that by tomorrow, today will be gone. You can’t afford to get carried away with anything. You have to focus on what you have to do next. That has to remain Jana’s priority.”
Piper’s past record with Stewards does concern her.
“It’s a shocker,” she admits. “But I’ve been travelling pretty well lately and hopefully I can continue to clean up that record. I do feel that I am improving. I’m working really hard at doing that. I’m obviously getting more experience and hopefully that’s starting to show now, so I’m happy I’m heading in the right direction.”
Piper has to reach the twenty winner mark before she can apply to ride in the city. An application does not necessarily mean a license will be granted. Factors such as Piper’s disciplinary record, her level of experience and several other variables will be taken into account before a decision is reached.
But while Piper will be chasing those missing winners to open up her options, neither she nor Brazier intend rushing things along once that milestone has been achieved.
“Maybe I’ll wait till I’ve had twenty-five winners or something like that,” ventured Piper. “I’ll play that one as it comes.”
Brazier was more precise.
“I don’t think it’s about how many winners she has,” said Brazier. “It’s about when she is ready. When she gets to the city Jana will be riding better horses against better riders. She has to be both confident and capable going into that situation if she is going to survive the challenge. There’s still a lot to learn before that happens.
“I think she is about nine to ten months away from being able to go to town and I will hold her back as long as I can.”
To say that Brazier has taken Piper under his wing would sell short his involvement in the rider’s career. To say Piper needed a strong, helping hand through some testing times would be an understatement. To say that Piper has bitten the bullet and got on with the job would be fair comment.
All of their joint effort will be well worth it if the sentiments expressed in the final assessment by Lloyd Brazier, as to where Piper is headed, comes even close to being realised.
“If Jana continues the way she is going now with the same focus, she will be a superstar in eighteen months time,” said Brazier.
It was a statement spoken with true conviction.
Her smile got bigger with each passing winner. Her body language became more animated with each visit to the winners’ enclosure and there was a spring in her step that showed just how much pleasure she was taking from the day in which she brought home the first hat trick of her race riding career.
“I’m on fire,” laughed Piper, thoroughly enjoying the moment.
The fact that Piper has displayed a recent, rapid rate of progress is no accident.
Behind the scenes, the young rider has been hard at work with her mentor, trainer Lloyd Brazier, whose stable she joined on a full time basis some five months ago.
That was a move which will forever have an impact on her future because Brazier’s commitment to helping the young rider to get ahead has already almost gone beyond the call of duty.
“I started with Troy (Hall) who was the one who first suggested that I become a jockey,” said Piper. “It was nobody’s fault, but I struggled there. It was probably too big a stable for me at the time. Troy’s got bigger owners and they bring priorities, which I understand.
“I needed a smaller yard,” continued Piper. “Lloyd has seven horses in training and from the moment he took me on things started to change for me.
“It has now reached the stage where Lloyd sort of works everything around my involvement. I get the choice of rides. If we feel something might not be good enough to feature, he’ll let me take an outside ride.
“We’ll give our horses some days off. That gives me free time to ride work for other trainers. That helps lift my profile, which is why I get a fair book of rides each week at the Sunshine Coast.”
But it is not just by allowing her greater involvement in the regular everyday routine of the stable, which boosted her confidence, that Brazier has altered Piper’s career course.
Brazier’s influence is most prominent as the guiding hand that has shadowed Piper throughout her steep learning curve, both in terms of the development of her riding skills and the strengthening of mental ability to cope with adversity.
A nervous beginning ... tough criticism ... formal censure. These were all hurdles that had to be overcome.
Lloyd Brazier takes up the story.
“Basically, at the start, Jana didn’t know too much about what she was doing,” volunteered Brazier, “and she copped a lot of heat for that.
“The Stewards were on her case ... sometimes rightly, sometimes wrongly. We went to appeal twice when we thought they were wrong. Won one, lost one.
“But she was learning you know. It was really a tough time for her because she kept getting called in. Going into that room can be quite daunting for a young apprentice let me tell you.”
Enough to break a young jockey’s spirit I suggested.
“It almost did,” admitted Piper.
“They just kept giving me time ... you know ten meetings, twelve meetings. And even when we won one on appeal, I still did the seven meetings because they wouldn’t give me a stay of proceedings.
“And all of this while I was trying to compete against the likes of Glen Colless or Scotty Seamer when they came to ride at the coast.
"Riding against them was enough to flatten your confidence. Then being called in all the time added to my frustration. In those circumstances, you start to wonder what you are doing here.
“I was close to quitting, but Lloyd talked some sense into my head. He told me to stay positive. He said we’d get through it. He was just so supportive.”
Brazier did confirm that he and Piper had some meetings with the Stewards to try and gain a thorough understanding of their concerns about Piper’s riding so they could work at addressing them.
And Brazier, a former rider, is still talking, advising, encouraging.
“We talk every day,” said Brazier. “I tell her what she did wrong and why she got in that position. I tell her what she did right and the kind of things she must be aware of in a race.
“Then we do it some more the next day ... and the next day ... and the next. You just never stop learning and it’s an advantage if you can have someone pointing things out to you who has your well-being at heart, but who will point out your faults so that you can correct them.
“I’ve taught her how to conduct herself, and told her how not to conduct herself, with the stewards and owners. And the beauty of it all is that she listens and learns. That is why she is starting to get ahead.
“I’ve always told her to enjoy her successes when she has them, but also to always remember that by tomorrow, today will be gone. You can’t afford to get carried away with anything. You have to focus on what you have to do next. That has to remain Jana’s priority.”
Piper’s past record with Stewards does concern her.
“It’s a shocker,” she admits. “But I’ve been travelling pretty well lately and hopefully I can continue to clean up that record. I do feel that I am improving. I’m working really hard at doing that. I’m obviously getting more experience and hopefully that’s starting to show now, so I’m happy I’m heading in the right direction.”
Piper has to reach the twenty winner mark before she can apply to ride in the city. An application does not necessarily mean a license will be granted. Factors such as Piper’s disciplinary record, her level of experience and several other variables will be taken into account before a decision is reached.
But while Piper will be chasing those missing winners to open up her options, neither she nor Brazier intend rushing things along once that milestone has been achieved.
“Maybe I’ll wait till I’ve had twenty-five winners or something like that,” ventured Piper. “I’ll play that one as it comes.”
Brazier was more precise.
“I don’t think it’s about how many winners she has,” said Brazier. “It’s about when she is ready. When she gets to the city Jana will be riding better horses against better riders. She has to be both confident and capable going into that situation if she is going to survive the challenge. There’s still a lot to learn before that happens.
“I think she is about nine to ten months away from being able to go to town and I will hold her back as long as I can.”
To say that Brazier has taken Piper under his wing would sell short his involvement in the rider’s career. To say Piper needed a strong, helping hand through some testing times would be an understatement. To say that Piper has bitten the bullet and got on with the job would be fair comment.
All of their joint effort will be well worth it if the sentiments expressed in the final assessment by Lloyd Brazier, as to where Piper is headed, comes even close to being realised.
“If Jana continues the way she is going now with the same focus, she will be a superstar in eighteen months time,” said Brazier.
It was a statement spoken with true conviction.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
BRYAN GUY OFFERS 'SHREWD BET' ADVICE
Trainers and Jockeys have forever been labelled as being notoriously bad tipsters. It might be a bum rap for some, but, rightly or wrongly, it is a description so steeped in time that current trainers and jockeys have no option but to wear that mantle as they go about their business.
So how bad can it be then when a trainer tips a jockey?
That is exactly what Gold Coast based trainer Bryan Guy has done by pointing punters in the direction of stable jockey Ric McMahon.
“I think putting money down on Ric for this season’s Jockey Premiership would be a shrewd bet,” stated Guy. “He’s putting in the work. He’s there at four in the morning. He’s riding trials. He is maturing and he is just getting better and better in the saddle.
“I think he’ll be a real contender for the title this season.”
By showing that much confidence in his jockey, Guy, by implication, is also making a positive statement about the standard of horse-flesh he has in his yard as that level of quality should play an integral part in any success that McMahon finds in the coming months.
But has McMahon himself targeted the Premiership as a realistic goal for the season.
“Oh absolutely,” answered McMahon.
“Particularly with Bryan (Guy) behind me. It does make my job so much easier.
“I know I have to work hard and I am doing that. I get up at 2.30am twice a week to go to ride work at the Coast and the rest of the time I am riding work at Eagle Farm.
“A Premiership won’t come easy ... but, yes, I think I can win it,” concluded McMahon.
The Guy/McMahon combination brought home Jazz Heart at double figure odds at Eagle Farm yesterday to back up their argument. It doesn’t take too many winners from the stable at those odds to keep punters in front.
So should you follow the Guy tip?
It's your call.
So how bad can it be then when a trainer tips a jockey?
That is exactly what Gold Coast based trainer Bryan Guy has done by pointing punters in the direction of stable jockey Ric McMahon.
“I think putting money down on Ric for this season’s Jockey Premiership would be a shrewd bet,” stated Guy. “He’s putting in the work. He’s there at four in the morning. He’s riding trials. He is maturing and he is just getting better and better in the saddle.
“I think he’ll be a real contender for the title this season.”
By showing that much confidence in his jockey, Guy, by implication, is also making a positive statement about the standard of horse-flesh he has in his yard as that level of quality should play an integral part in any success that McMahon finds in the coming months.
But has McMahon himself targeted the Premiership as a realistic goal for the season.
“Oh absolutely,” answered McMahon.
“Particularly with Bryan (Guy) behind me. It does make my job so much easier.
“I know I have to work hard and I am doing that. I get up at 2.30am twice a week to go to ride work at the Coast and the rest of the time I am riding work at Eagle Farm.
“A Premiership won’t come easy ... but, yes, I think I can win it,” concluded McMahon.
The Guy/McMahon combination brought home Jazz Heart at double figure odds at Eagle Farm yesterday to back up their argument. It doesn’t take too many winners from the stable at those odds to keep punters in front.
So should you follow the Guy tip?
It's your call.
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