Whittle looking to go back-to-back in Winter Series Final

[Wandering Eyes]

Pioneer Park will play host to the Winter Series Final this Friday, with veteran trainer Lisa Whittle looking to retain the title.

She has only just recently returned to Central Australia, but trainer Lisa Whittle will be aiming to win the Alice Springs Turf Club’s Red Centre Winter Series Final for the second-straight year.

The $40,000 BM66 contest is scheduled for Friday at Pioneer Park, with the ASTC hosting its annual Truckies Day meeting.

Whittle, who has won a host of Alice Springs premierships since leaving South Australia for the NT in the late 1990s, has two strong chances in the final in Lastar and Miss Miduki.

Liberty Blue won the inaugural Winter Series Final last year for Whittle, who has settled back in the Alice after relocating to SA at the start of the year.

The mid-grade sprinting series was introduced to spice up the off-season, and the $40,000 purse was also an incentive for trainers to keep their horses in work.

There have been nine heats since late May where runners picked up points to qualify for the final – five points for a win, three points for second, two points for third, and one point for finishing unplaced.

In order to run in the final, a horse must have had at least one start in a heat.

Lastar, a five-year-old gelding, was formerly linked with the stable of Murray Bridge trainer Nicole Irwin and had one win from four starts in Alice Springs in April before disappointing in two starts in Darwin in June and July.

Transferred to the Whittle stable, Lastar returned to Pioneer Park on July 30 and was unlucky to go down by a nostril over 1400m with Darwin-based jockey Alice Lindsay in the saddle.

Lastar and Lindsay teamed up again two Saturdays ago and proved far too good, winning by three lengths over 1200m in one of the two final heats of the Winter Series.

Miss Miduki, a six-year-old mare, was a solid performer for the Gawler stable of Gary and Nichole Searle and Brianna Callanan before winning on debut in Alice Springs for Whittle over 1200m on July 16.

A seventh behind Toffiato over 1200m followed a fortnight later before the daughter of Bel Esprit became eligible for the Winter Series Final when finishing a narrow second behind Toffiato on the last day of qualification.

Stan Tsaikos will partner Miss Miduki in the final, with the mare dropping 4.5kg to carry 54kg.

Lastar drops 3kg to haul 56kg on Friday, so with the two other main hopes in Kickatorp (61kg) and Brat (60.5kg) carrying extra weight, Whittle is every chance of going back-to-back.

In saying that, Kickatorp, trained by Ray Viney, and Brat, from the Terry Gillett yard, are serious contenders, while Greg Connor’s ever-consistent Trystoff cannot be written off either.

Kickatorp, formerly of the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott stable, went down by a narrow margin when second over 1100m on his Red Centre debut on Alice Springs Cup Day before backing up four days later on June 4 and sealing victory in a heat of the Winter Series over 1100m.

On July 9, Kickatorp pushed Gillett’s in-form Supreme Attraction over 1100m before coming second by a length.

After winning the $100,000 Pioneer Sprint (1200m) during the Alice Springs Cup Carnival, Supreme Attraction won a further three races in a row before overcoming Kickatorp.

Brat won three heats during the Winter Series, over 1200m, 1100m, and 1200m, with the former Victorian galloper saluting on seven occasions from 16 starts in the Red Centre.

Hailing from the Warrnambool stable of Maddie Raymond, Brat is in super form for the Gillett yard after a disappointing Alice Springs Cup Carnival campaign and is perhaps the one to beat in the final.

Gillett’s daughter Dakota-Lee, a second-year apprentice, will be out to secure victory before heading back to NSW, where she will be loaned to Warwick Farm trainer Bjorn Baker.

Last year, the 17-year-old, who ended the 2022/23 season with a wet sail, spent time in NSW working on her craft with Wyong trainer Damien Lane.

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