Andrew Mallyon has a fond spot for Toowoomba … and why wouldn’t he have after taking out a feature race on the card for the second successive year at Toowoomba’s signature meeting … the Weetwood Day.
Mallyon took out the Weetwood on the locally trained Jadentom for Lindsay Hatch last year and he was at it again on Saturday when claiming the Guineas aboard the Stuart Kendrick trained Bulloo … which means he only has to add the Toowoomba Cup to his collection to have the full set of Toowoomba features behind his name.
“Stuart Kendrick’s horse had good form, so I was confident going into the race,” said Mallyon, talking about the Guineas winner Bulloo.
“I just thought Bulloo had wanted to over-race a little bit with the blinkers on in his last start … so I thought it was very good stable management, going up in trip and taking the blinkers off and being able to be a little bit more conservative with her in a race that was going to generate a bit more speed.
“So, I think that was a bit of a masterstroke by the stable.
“Also, they gave me an open book and I’m really appreciative of that. I’m not the type of jockey who likes being tied down by too many instructions. I like to work it out myself. Stuart gave me an open book, so I was able to go out there with a clear mind and make my own plan … which ultimately landed me in a nice spot in the race.
“I was able to get the horse to just switch off nicely in midfield and then the race sort of panned out nicely for us from the half mile onwards. She showed really good turn of foot in the straight on the back of being ridden quieter in a race with a stronger tempo.
“She does look to be a filly with a lot of upside. If she can learn to relax a bit more, she may get to stretch out the trip.
“I do enjoy riding at the track. I don’t go up there much these days, but I went to Toowoomba a fair bit when we were zoned there, and I had a bit of luck.
“It is a tricky track to ride, but very time I’ve gone there I’ve had really good support.
“When we were zoned there that good support came from Lindsay Hatch and other local trainers which was important because it is one of those tracks where I think locals do have a bit of an advantage, just because they are used to the undulating track … and, obviously, what I learnt about the Toowoomba track during that period obviously helped me going into days like the Weetwood.
“I just need the Toowoomba Cup now to have the full set of their feature races.
“That would be nice!”
