Mark Newnham, one of trainer Gai Waterhouse’s chief assistants, added a new skill to his repertoire this week.
But he hopes to revert to the more familiar role of Tulloch Lodge’s Sydney race-day representative when he oversees a team of five at Rosehill on Saturday.
In Melbourne for the spring carnival, Waterhouse asked Newnham to call the action over the telephone when stable runner Amanpour led throughout to win the final race at Randwick on Wednesday.
He obliged but suggested a career change wasn’t on the horizon.
“I had Gai on the phone and I had to call the last 400 (metres),” Newnham said.
“If they’re two lengths in front it’s not that hard to do and I was lucky she was two lengths in front.”
Amanpour’s win earned her a trip to Melbourne for the Matriarch Stakes and Newnham is hopeful the Tulloch Lodge team can keep the winning momentum going at Rosehill.
Their runners include two-year-old Brooklyn who was in the market on debut at Randwick two weeks ago but raced greenly and finished down the track behind stablemate Pierrette.
He meets Godolphin colt Furnaces on Saturday but Newnham expects two key gear adjustments to make a difference.
“The blinkers and ear muffs go on,” Newnham said.
“We did a similar thing with Pierrette and we’re hoping for a similar result. It’s the same jockey, same tactics.
“He trialled really well at the official trials but he just got it all wrong on race day.”
Furnaces is an odds-on favourite after an impressive Warwick Farm trial win in fast time with Brooklyn on the second line of betting.
Another horse heading to the meeting with a gear change of sorts is the Gerald Ryan-trained Dothraki.
Resuming in the final race, the Group Three Gold Coast Guineas winner will make his first appearance as a gelding.
He is yet to win first-up but he did finish third behind In Cahoots and racing’s latest sprint sensation Chautauqua when he returned in the Gosford Guineas last campaign.
“He’s been a bit slow coming up and whatever he does Saturday he’s going to improve,” Ryan said.
