Leading NT trainer Kerry Petrick has given the Darwin Turf Club’s Lightning Wet Season Series the “thumbs up”.
Introduced a year ago by Thoroughbred Racing Northern Territory for Top End mid-sprinters to boost numbers and give racing a higher profile during the off-season, the concept is seemingly here to stay as all seven heats in the 2022/23 format were competitive and attracted good fields.
Heats were held at a 0-64, 0-58, BM54 and Class 2 level from 1000m-1300m from November to January with starters picking up points to qualify for the Final.
The $40,000 TRNT Off The Track Lightning Wet Season Series Final (0-70) takes place on Australia Day with 10 runners aiming to follow in the footsteps of last year’s inaugural winner Blue Odyssey from the Gary Clarke stable.
Petrick’s New Roman (Phillip Crich), Phil Cole’s Crazy Lad (Vanessa Arnott), and Tayarn Halter’s duo Noble War (Jade Hampson) and Beachhaven (Paul Shiers) won their respective heat and will line up in the Final.
Horses could feature in as many of the $20,000 heats as they liked to accumulate enough points to make the Final, but in the end it was left up to connections as to whether or not they accepted the invitation to advance to the feature race on Thursday.
Cole’s Brazenpine, Jason Manning’s Kirakat, Dick Leech’s War Games were victorious in the other heats, but did not accept for the Final.
Heat 6 of the Wet Season Series over 1100m (0-64) on December 31 – won by Noble War – was worth $21,000 as it was also Heat 1 of the Summer Sprint Series.
“I think the Wet Season Series is a great idea, I do agree with the format,” Petrick said.
“It’s lovely to see a $40,000 race in the Wet Season, the Final is a really strong field.
“Thursday’s race is actually a Carnival type race.
“It’s wonderful to see such a calibre of a race over the Wet Season.
“I really hope that we get a good crowd to boost it all along.
“I think Tayarn Halter’s Noble War and her other one, Beachhaven, that has won it’s last couple are dangers.
“In all honesty, there’s probably five or six of them that you would not be surprised if they won.
“Unfortunately, we’ve drawn terrible (9), but you’ve got to take the good with the bad don’t you.”
It was Darwin trainer David Bates’s input that saw the Wet Season Series grow legs as he came up with the initial plan, and TRNT were only too happy to work with the trainers.
“Race fields and horse numbers drop away in the Top End and Red Centre following the Darwin and Alice Springs Cup Carnivals,” TRNT chief executive officer Andrew O’Toole said.
“After the first Wet Season Series in Darwin last year, obviously we believed that something similar needed to be run in Alice Springs as well and therefore the first Winter Series took place last year.”
Petrick, who bases herself in the Top End and the Red Centre throughout the year, has won a plethora of feature races in the NT for over 25 years and hopes the in-form New Roman can prevail on Thursday.
New Roman, a six-year-old gelding, has had 23 starts for five wins and seven minor placings for Petrick after she purchased the son of Written Tycoon at the 2021 Magic Million Tried Horse Sale during the Darwin Cup Carnival.
Returning from a spell in December, New Roman finished eighth over 1100m (0-58) in Alice Springs before returning to Darwin where he bounced back to win over 1000m (0-58) on New Year’s Eve before taking out a Wet Season Series heat over 1300m (0-64) on January 14.
“He just does not go a yard on that track in Alice, I think it’s the softer surface,” Petrick said.
“He really loves the Wet Season here where the track is firm.
“He’s not a very big horse, he can get across the top of the surface.
“You wouldn’t believe it, I woke up the morning before I left Alice Springs and thought I’ve got to go home for Christmas.
“I’ve got to take the car because I’ve got the dog and I may as well put the horse float on – which two horses am I going to take to Darwin.
“I thought, well, New Roman is going although he had just run last and I thought I may as well take the other one I own myself (Constant Cause) as well.
“They both ended up here and they’ve both gone really good – Constant Cause has run two seconds since he’s been here.”
Petrick is having a good run of late having saluted eight times either at Fannie Bay or Pioneer Park since October 29, and has also struck a winning rapport with in-form jockey Crich.
A former Darwin-based jockey, Crich was residing in South Australia before relocating to Alice Springs in the early spring and since October 29 he has ridden 14 winners throughout the NT.
“Yeah, I’ve had a really good run, just a bit of change of luck, I think,” Petrick said.
“I had a double in Alice Springs last weekend with Real Devine and Phantom Court – two very difficult mares, so it was a terrific result to see them both get up and win for me.
“Crichy is flying, absolutely, he’s going great guns.
“He doesn’t have any weight problems whatsoever – he’s such a natural little light rider, so it’s actually good having him back on board.”
Crich’s winning streak for Petrick started when he rode for the stable over three weekends in Kununurra, WA, in late August and early September and saluted aboard Mangione and Real Devine – as well as New Roman.
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