Popular Cranbourne trainer Stephen Theodore expressed his jubilation after his stable’s latest big win very simply on Twitter: “road trippin, road trippin, road trippin…”
And Road Trippin’ it was who made the trip to Hobart to claim the lion’s share of the $100,000 prizemoney offered for this evening’s TRC Thomas Lyons S. 1400m LR.
The admirable 4YO son of Charge Forward and Road To Damascus boosted the records of his sire (he’s Charge Forward’s 12th stakeswinner) and his dam (he’s her second stakeswinner from three named foals).
He’s stakeswinner No. 45 from a Flying Spur mare and the fifth black type winner bred on the Charge Forward/Flying Spur cross.
Road Trippin’ completes a quartet of stakeswinners from Arrowfield’s 2011 Inglis Melbourne Premier draft, following Group 2 winners Snitzerland & Flying Snitzel, and multiple Singapore stakeswinner Stepitup.
Purchased by Theodore for $22,500, Road Trippin’ is raced by Chris Alsemgeest, Trevor Christian, Mathew Cox, Ken Fagan, Luke Galliott, Geoff Kemp, Trent Murphy, Hit The Line Racing and Frank & Shirley Welsford. They didn’t have to wait long to get their money back: Road Trippin’ earned almost $77,000 as a juvenile and was Group 2-placed behind All Too Hard at Flemington.
He earned twice that amount at three with a couple of city wins, the Albury Guineas, a Listed Race placing and a brave 5th in the Caulfield Guineas.
This season Road Trippin’ has won twice, placed four times and taken his career earnings close to $370,000. He will remain in Tasmania to run in the George Adams Plate LR at the Launceston Cup meeting on 26 February.
Most of Road Trippin’s owners stumped up again at the 2012 Inglis Premier Sale when Theodore bid $40,000 for Road Trippin’s full brother Crack A Roadie, who earned stakeswinner status and $177,000 in three starts before his premature death.
Last year much the same group returned to Arrowfield’s Inglis Premier draft and paid $60,000 for the pair’s half-brother by Manhattan Rain. Road To Damascus, a winning half-sister to Group 1 winners Bluebird The Word & Porto Roca, does not have a current yearling, but she foaled an All American filly last Spring and is in foal to Animal Kingdom.
It’s been an excellent week for Charge Forward, also represented by the city winners On Strike (Moonee Valley last Friday) & Almighty Charge (Randwick last Saturday), and the promising 2YO filly London Lolly, second at Moonee Valley this evening.
Five yearlings by the brilliant son of Red Ransom are catalogued for next month’s Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale, among them a filly and colt in the Arrowfield draft.
