BRING The Joy brought Christmas joy to her Gunnedah trainer and syndicate of owners when the mare ground out a tough win in today’s Bettington Rural and Stone & Co Fillies and Mares Benchmark 50 Handicap (1450m) at Quirindi.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Gavin Groth trains Bring The Joy for her owner/breeder Dave Anderson.
Anderson also races her with Gunnedah mates Phil Brooks and Dave Neader as well as Tamworth’s Shane Chillingworth, Neil Alderton and this freelancer (Geoff Newling).
Anderson and Chillingworth also crossed sporting paths a couple of decades when both played cricket for their respective Gunnedah and Tamworth sides, games this writer often reported on in a former role as Sports Editor of The Northern Daily Leader.
It made today’s victory a sweet one, being at Quirindi for a big Boxing Day meeting not only to report on the racing but cheer on a nice little mare who has had a number of problems.
Read Also:
Those problems Gavin Groth has worked through and now seems to have her nearing her best.
Indeed Michael “Squizzy” Squires has ridden her past three starts for a maiden win at Inverell, a fourth at Moree and then another win today.
His ride on her at Inverell was one of his best.
Today he got caught three wide in the five-horse race.
“Tried to bluff them out,” he said of his opposing jockeys “but I had to sit out there.”
He had clear running though and turned for home with a lap full of horse who surged to the front and stayed there to post a three quarter length win from Bianbitten with Lucky Starlet a long head away third.
“Gavin was quite confident too,” Michael Squires added.
Gavin wasn’t as confident when he watched bring The Joy sit three deep and a few mutterings were heard.
One thing he knew, though, “she’d keep coming”.
“She did, she doesn’t have a sprint but she grinds them out.”
He’s hopeful she can go on from here and literally “go on”.
“I still think she’ll get 2000m because she does keep coming,” he said.
“But today wasn’t a day to try it.”
he had nominated her for the 2000m Cup as well as the 1450m F&M but elected to run in the latter and reaped the rewards.
“There is a race over 2050 at Gunnedah on January 15, I thought that might be a good benchmark race for her, we might have a look at that.”
Squires celebrated a race to race double when the Muswellbrook-based jockey booted home No Soup For You in the LP Shearing Maiden Plate (1600m).
He was at his best on board the Nick Mitchell-trained Gosford mare to score a long head win over Soho Flyer.
“They were going a bit slow so I put a bit of pace into the race,” Squires said after the mare sat outside the leader.
“She dominated the race.”
After making the pace it appeared Pitchi Pitchi might charged down the middle of the track but the scone gelding’s run ended as No Soup For You got goinfg again.
“She’s still a bit green,” Mitchell said.
“She does try her heart out but we’ll probably look at 2000m with her now.”
