Murray Bridge trainer Heather Lehmann and husband Graham have returned to the Top End as the 2023 Darwin Cup Carnival approaches.
And, as usual, they will mix business with pleasure.
Apart from racing horses at Fannie Bay, the Lehmanns will also kick back and relax in the tropics.
“Glad to be back, we brought six horses up and there’s possibly two more coming up,” Heather Lehmann said while fishing on Darwin Harbour on Thursday.
“I ring my relatives and they’re all grumpy when I ring them – it’s wet, cold and nasty weather down home.
“I tell them that it’s nice and warm up here.
“We just look all year to get back here for a couple of months off and enjoy the racing while we’re here.
“We’re relaxing and just having a rest, we work pretty solid back home with a couple of enterprises that we have going.
“It’s just nice at our age to have somewhere to go where we can still enjoy doing our horses, but enjoy having a break at the same time.
“Our horses always manage to pay their way and give us kind of a free holiday in a way, but last year probably wasn’t so successful.
“We brought quite a few young ones last year and it didn’t pan out how we expected, but that’s racing and we’re back again and it would take a fair bit to have us not coming back that’s for sure.”
Lehmann, who has had over 200 starters in Darwin and Alice Springs over the years for 17 winners and 43 minor placings at Fannie Bay, kicked off her NT sojourn last weekend.
Quick Return was second in a 1200m maiden and Boogie Nights was seventh over 1200m (BM54), with Lady Tucan, Marvelous Night and Lucky Fortuna stepping out this Saturday.
Darwin R1 replay – June 3, 2023
Runner-up: Quick Return
Sanblas, the NT Derby (2050m) winner in 2021, is also in Darwin, but the five-year-old gelding hasn’t raced since posting three wins, a second and a third in five races in SA early last year – including a last-start win over 1950m (BM68) at Morphettville Parks.
“He’s had a few issues back home, but he all seems to be through that, so I was able to talk the owners into bringing him up and hopefully head towards the Cup,” Lehmann said.
Marvelous Night and Lady Tucan both raced in Darwin last year, with the former having success before finishing 11th in the NT Derby.
“We know Marvelous Night is going to handle the track, he’s a lot more mature this year and he’s turning into a nice horse, and although he is first up I’m expecting him to run a solid race,” Lehmann added.
“Lady Tucan, she had to win before we came up and she left it until the day before we left to win at Port Augusta because she was only a maidener.
“She’s only a smallish horse, but she’s got a fair bit of guts about her and she too was only a three-year-old last year – she’s a bit older and a bit stronger.
“Lucky Fortuna wasn’t on our list until probably the last two weeks before we came.
“She’s one of Peter Hardacre’s from Murray Bridge – he also owns Quick Return and said that back home she was a bit fierce even in the way she was track working.
“All she wanted to do was get up and go, so he said it might do her good to get up here and just let her run and let her sort herself out – he’s hoping that the way they race up here might be good for her mindset before she goes back home.
“She has the ability and the 1000m on Saturday is probably too short, but we didn’t want her being held up and doing the wrong thing, just let her run.
“She’s got barrier one, I would have rather drawn out – anyway we’ll just see what she does.
“Adam Nicholls rode her in a trial and was happy with her, so we’ll just have to wait and see how she goes, but if she gets her mind right I think she’ll definitely have a nice little holiday away from home.”
Pillow Guy is the other horse from the Lehmann stable that’s likely to make the trip to the NT.
“He injured himself here last year which was disappointing, but he’s had a good spell,” she said.
“He was in work before we left, but he needed a couple of solid gallops and had to tick a lot of boxes – once he does that he’ll hopefully be on the truck straight up.”
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