The two-and-a- half day trek from Mount Isa to Brisbane paid off for trainer Damien Finter when his gelding Deadly Choices won the $105,000 Country Cups Challenge Final at Doomben.
Finter has a couple of horses in work at Mount Isa in far northwest Queensland and mixes training with working as a contractor in the mines.
Deadly Choices is his best horse to date, having won 12 races after doing his early racing in Victoria.
“We left Mt Isa the Friday before last and took our time getting here by last Sunday. He is used to travelling but with the heat we wanted to make certain he settled in,” Finter said.
It was the second time Deadly Choices had ventured to Brisbane having run second in the Battle of the Bush final at Eagle Farm in June.
“Deadly Choices had no luck in that race and this makes up for it a bit. It is the only two times I have been to Brisbane with a horse so it has been a good place for me.”
Finter will now decide whether to leave Deadly Choices in Brisbane or take him back north.
Mt Isa jockey Dan Ballard rode one of the races of his life to win on Deadly Choices.
Ballard and his family are legends in Mt Isa and north Queensland racing and on occasions have kept the sport going in the region through their efforts.
Ballard is president of the Mt Isa Club, rides in races and sometimes doubles as track manager.
He was among Brisbane’s leading apprentices 20 years ago but moved to the bush when his weight got too high for the city.
“Deadly Choices is such a strong horse and has been winning under big weights in the north. I am really pleased for Damien and Mt Isa racing,” he said.
Deadly Choices ($8) ran home strongly to beat San Vincenzo ($11) by a half length.
