NT racing celebrates success in Kununurra and Birsdville

[Wandering Eyes]

Darwin apprentice Emma Lines winning her first interstate race after sealing victory on Little Town Blues for Top End trainer Phil Cole at Birdsville in outback Queensland on Friday. Picture: Roxy Weston Photography

It’s been a big couple of days for NT racing at Kununurra in WA and Birdsville in Queensland.

Trainer Kerry Petrick, who has won a host of big races in Darwin and Alice Springs, celebrated victory in the $32,500 Kununurra Cup (1800m) when seven-year-old gelding Boom Boom Sweet made a winning move at the 800m.

With veteran NT jockey Paul Denton as pilot, Boom Boom Sweet ($3.50) battled it out with stablemate Mangione (Phillip Crich), a $6 bookmaker hope, in the home straight before skipping clear at the 200m to seal victory by 1.14 lengths.

It ended up being a Petrick trifecta as $4.80 chance Dip Me Lid (Lek Maloney) rallied over the concluding 400m to finish third in the six-horse field.

Denton, Crich and apprentice Maloney are based in Alice Springs.

For Petrick and Denton it was their 111th win as a combination and for Boom Boom Sweet, the son of Jakkalberry, victory made up for last year when second in the Cup behind the Dick Leech-trained Lunch Session.

Crich partnered Boom Boom Sweet last year, so to be the bridesmaid once again is unfortunate despite doing little wrong aboard Mangione.

Dip Me Lid appeared to be labouring at the turn after sharing the early lead with King’s Star, while Tayarn Halter’s $2.40 favourite Kippax (Adam Nicholls) finished fourth.

Boom Boom Sweet arrived back on the Kununurra grass after winning over 1600m (0-66) during the Darwin Carnival on August 5 and finished half a length behind Kippax in second place over 1800m (RTG62) the previous Saturday at the remote WA location.

Settling sixth once passing the winning post of the first time, Boom Boom Sweet circled the field once exiting the back straight and along with Mangione, who finished second behind Dip Me Lid over 1800m (RTG48) last weekend, they kicked clear of the field at the 400m approaching the home turn.

Petrick and Denton teamed up to win the NT Derby (2050m) with Venting during the 2022 Darwin Carnival before winning the same race with Anphina in July.

The day started well for Petrick and Denton when $2.50 favourite Throw At Da Stumps won the opening race.

Darwin trainers Leech, Halter and Chris Pollard tasted success with Envenomate ($3.70), Raffalli ($1.70 fav) and Bart’s Bullett ($7.50), while Alice Springs trainer Russell Bell had two wins in seven days with Garrucha ($1.65 fav).

Envenomate and Bart’s Bullett finished strongly to secure victory, while Raffalli, a winner at Kununurra last year, and Garrucha led throughout.

Maloney, who won his first interstate race last weekend aboard Garrucha, shared the riding honours on Cup Day after getting Garrucha and Bart’s Bullet home.

Meanwhile, Darwin trainer Phil Cole and his apprentice Emma Lines claimed top honours following the Birdsville Cup Carnival on Friday and Saturday.

The pair combined to win the feature race on Friday – the $22,000 Open Handicap (1200m) – with eight-year-old gelding Vunivalu ($9.50), who led from start to finish to make up for his disappointing eighth at Betoota the previous week.

Vunivalu has a good record in the Top End, but he was all at sea on the Betoota dirt when he ran clockwise for the first time in his 52nd career start.

They run anti-clockwise on the dirt at Birdsville and Vunivalu was back to his best.

Earlier in the day, Cole and Lines celebrated when Little Town Blues ($2.60 eq fav) made it three straight wins when he saluted by five lengths over 800m (BM56) carrying 66kg.

The six-year-old gelding arrived at Birdsville after wins at Darwin over 1000m (0-62) and Betoota over 1000m in open company, and for Lines it was her first interstate win.

Lines, who amazingly finished third in the 2022/23 Top End and Country jockeys’ premiership after debuting last December, is the last of the five NT apprentices – Jade Hampson, Dakota Gillett, Ianish Luximon and Maloney – to win a race outside the NT.

The 17-year-old, who won the 2023 Darwin Guineas (1600m) for Cole aboard Tubthumper, then produced a super ride on Saturday when Equal Balance ($3.10 fav), trained by Strathalbyn’s Kym Healy, led all the way to win by 7.75 lengths over 1600m (BM55).

Cole, who dominated the Birdsville program last year and won the Cup with Saccharo, and Lines finished among the minor placings on Saturday to end the two days as the leading trainer and jockey.

Healy’s Mathematics ($21) finished second behind Vunivalu on Friday, while Cole’s Floreat Pica ($16) was second behind Equal Balance on Saturday.

On Friday, Healy had a narrow win with Scout’s Honour ($14) over 1200m (Class 5).

Finally, Moderna’s Arrow snuck home on Friday at $101 for Miles trainer Maleah Hill and former Alice Springs trainer Sarah Robbins, who rode the horse.

Robbins, an apprentice jockey based in Miles, once trained Moderna’s Arrow in the Red Centre and rode Saccharo to victory in the 2022 Bedourie Cup (1600m) a week after he won the Birdsville Cup.

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