Coral Coast Shield set for thrilling finale

By Andrew Adermann

The stage is set for a thrilling finale at Cluden Park this Saturday, with three Coral Coast Shield Finals to be contested.

After 12 qualifiers were held across Rockhampton, Cairns, Mackay and Townsville, the $25,000 bonus is anyone’s game, with each city well positioned to steal the show.

It’s been a case of home ground advantage throughout the series, with Rockhampton surging to an early lead after hosting three qualifiers, before Cairns and Mackay capitalised on the local tracks.

Heading into last week’s final three qualifiers it was only Townsville who were yet to trouble the scores, however that soon changed with a near clean sweep of points available at Cluden Park, in turn surging straight to the lead.

After a slow start, Townsville looks to be in the box seat with a number of the local gallopers looking to back-up from their victories last week when they host Saturday’s series of finals.

In the first of the day – the 1000-metre Coral Coast Lightening Open Handicap – a number of the region’s top in-form sprinters will do battle, with four qualifier winners taking their place in the seven-horse field.

The city of Cairns will be hoping to get on the board early, well-represented by two qualifier winners in Beraht and Hidden in Heaven for Janel Ryan and Leanne Ashford respectively.

The 1400-metre Queen of the Coast for fillies and mares will follow on from the sprint, with local trainer Georgie Holt hoping her five-year-old mare Dream Big can make it three in a row and shore up Townsville’s lead.

Rockhampton runner Bold Eos will be looking to turn the tables on Dream Big following a last-start defeat to the mare, and gets the ideal inside barrier draw and weight swing to overturn the half-head margin.

The final event comes via the 1609-metre Coral Coast Cup Handicap, in what is another extremely open affair.

Irish import Fly For Yulong for Rockhampton trainer Jared Wehlow looks the toughest to beat, coming into the race on the back of two wins on the trot.

He’ll face stiff competition from the ever-consistent topweight Tambo’s Heart for Janel Ryan and hometown her Bullion Wolf for Leslie Gordy.

This year’s inaugural series has been a welcomed boost for the region’s racing, and Townsville Turf Club General Manager Natalie Rintala is hoping tomorrow’s finale does justice to what has been a fantastic event.

“Opportunities for our trainers and industry participants to partake in initiatives like the Coral Coast Shield are crucial for country and provincial racing,” Ms Rintala said. 

“We see a height of activity around Winter Carnival time and it’s wonderful that our people can keep their horses in work and participate in a series like this.

“We’re very excited to be on top of the leaderboard at the moment, and while we’ll be wishing all trainers, riders and owners the very best of luck on Saturday, we’ll certainly be cheering home our local horses.”

In addition to the prize money on offer, the winning city will secure $25,000 to go towards improving their patron or racing facilities, while each club will also boast a nominated charity partner which will share in a further $25,000.

“Our charity is Riding for the Disabled, who are a group of volunteers who work locally here to provide riding opportunities for people who have disabilities,” Ms Rintala said.

“They provide social, emotional and physical connection with the horses that they work with and they rely largely on donations and fundraising so we’ll be very excited to be able to provide them a boost for their funding.”

Click here for more information on the Coral Coast Shield Final.