Friday’s nine-race card at Townsville turned out to be hotly contested, with a number of promising horses saluting and keeping their unbeaten records in tact.
Unbeaten two-year-old Missile Thunder stamped himself as arguably one of Queensland’s best juveniles, extending his unbeaten run to five in the opening event on the program.
Ridden by apprentice jockey Rachel Shred, the son of Smart Missile settled down at the tail of the seven-horse field, before coming wide an accelerating beautifully at the end of 1200m to win by almost a length.
Friday’s victory confirmed the stable’s plans to head to next months’ $100,000 2YO Classic (1200m) at Townsville, where a clash with QTIS Jewel 2YO runner-up Better Rain beckons.
The running of Friday afternoon’s feature was delayed, following a nasty fall in race seven which saw race favourite Olindo come down, losing jockey Marnu Potegieter.
After railing through to find the front early on from barrier one, Olindo put in a few awkward strides, which resulted in the jockey falling off.
Sky Racing’s Michael Charge reported that Potegieter was conscious following the incident, however he did suffer an ankle injury, so he was subsequently taken to hospital for further treatment.
The horse got back to his feet and was treated by the vets, in what is certainly a positive outcome.
While it was only the Prelude for the 2YO Classic on Friday, the $105,000 Northern Jewel 3YO Classic was run and won later on in the program.
With four North Queensland heavyweights out to do battle, it was Yes Dream who had the last laugh.
Like Missile Thunder, Yes Dream remained unbeaten in the feature, taking his winning record to five from five.
After sitting outside the leader, Yes Dream was given his queue by Lacey Morrison in the straight, shooting clear to win comfortably.
The ever-consistent Fire King hit the line strongly to run second, while Palencia worked home well alongside Lord Of Light for the minor money.
Yes Dream, a son out of the mare Platinum Ruby, is one of a number of quality racehorses from that family, including Ruby July and 12-times winner Platinum Tycoon.
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