After winning the Birdsville Cup last year with Saccharo, Darwin trainer Phil Cole has returned to outback Queensland to compete on the dirt tracks during the Simpson Desert Racing Carnival.
Saccharo won’t defend his title this year; in fact, Cole won’t have a runner in the famous $50,000 Birdsville Cup (1600m) on Saturday.
However, Cole will get the chance to go back-to-back in Birdsville’s feature sprint – the $22,000 Open Handicap (1200m) on Friday – when Vunivalu attempts to emulate the success of Kronos from a year ago.
Cole was always returning to Queensland after appearing at Betoota, Birdsville, Bedourie, Winton and Longreach last year, where he had 10 wins, five seconds, 10 thirds and six fourths in 30 races.
READ: Cole continues to enjoy unbridled success in Queensland
With a team of 13 horses, this year’s sojourn kicked off at Betoota last Saturday, where Cole had a win with Little Town Blues, a second with Sodbuster, and two thirds with Colhoun and Fille Cheesesteak.
Other members of the team include Exgames, Ye Hella, Great Boulder, Dreyfus, Laylah’s Wish, Sedona, Floreat Pica and Afternoon Tea.
They’re all racing at Birdsville, with Sodbuster, Great Boulder and Dreyfus likely to race both days.
“We had a great time out here last year – the hospitality was really good,” Cole added.
“We were quite lucky last year that there were small fields and that we brought the right horses.
“Let’s hope that our luck continues this year.
“We’ll obviously race at Birdsville over the two days, then head to Bedourie the following Saturday.
“The plan is to go to Winton the week after and then we’ll be on the road straight back to Darwin.
“Last year, I think we probably just went one meeting too far when we went to Longreach.”
Saccharo, who also won the Bedourie Cup (1600m) last year, won two straight in Darwin in February and March before heading to the Red Centre, where he won the Chief Minister’s Cup (1600m) and finished third in the Alice Springs Cup (2000m).
The eight-year-old gelding debuted for Cole in June last year, and in 15 starts in the NT and Queensland he has managed six wins and has finished in the top four on seven occasions.
“Just before the Darwin carnival this year he wasn’t right,” Cole said.
“We had to take him to the vet a few times and they found a little crack in his splint bone – it just caused him a little bit of discomfort.
“We had the option to push through the Darwin carnival, but he won close to $150,000 last preparation.
“Time is a good healer and we were happy to give the horse some time to recover.
“He’s had about eight weeks off and he’s meant to start work back in Darwin on Thursday.”
Vunivalu, who has won 11 races and has finished among the minor placings 13 times from 42 starts for Cole, is handy in Darwin, with the eight-year-old gelding backing up on Friday after a last-start eighth in an Open Handicap (1000m) at Betoota.
“He just left the barriers and thought he was racing the other way (anti-clockwise) – he got really lost out there and I’m happy to forgive him,” Cole said.
“The race on Friday was the main reason we brought him.
“He’s back running the Darwin direction and it’s 1200m, which will probably suit him a lot better.
“We spelled him a lot and planned to have only a couple of runs over the Darwin carnival.
“He won first-up and he didn’t disgrace himself in the Palmerston Sprint (11th) – he drew a wide barrier and didn’t have much luck.
“Just have to forget that he ran around last Saturday.”
Leading Darwin apprentice Emma Lines, aligned with the Cole stable, rode at Betoota, and according to the trainer, the spacious surroundings and dust were an eye-opener for the 17-year-old.
Lines, who finished third on Colhoun and Fille Cheesesteak last Saturday in her first meeting outside the NT, has 10 rides at Birdsville, where she will also partner Equal Balance for Strathalbyn trainer Kym Healy.
Healy, who supports the Darwin and Alice Springs racing carnivals every year, will have 10 runners at Birdsville, while Canberra-based jockey Aaron Sweeney, who rode with success during the Darwin Cup Carnival, has seven rides over the two days.
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