Leading stables look towards first Group 1 The Rising Sun

By Jordan Gerrans

Invitations for the first ever Group 1 $250,000 The Rising Sun will go on the line this Saturday evening at Menangle with several hopefuls for the richest harness race in the southern hemisphere for three and four-year-old pacers set to feature.

Last year, Racing Queensland unveiled the Rising Sun as its newest Group 1 feature with any three-year-old that contests the race benefiting from a preferential draw, and should they triumph, will receive a $100,000 bonus.

The first ever running of the Group 1 was postponed in 2020 with limited feature racing occurring due to COVID-19.

The exciting new race, The Rising Sun, will now debut on July 10 later this year as part of the TAB Queensland Constellations.

RQ and the Albion Park Harness Racing Club have the option to issue invites to three-year-olds (up to two) or four-year-olds (up to two) for the up-coming Rising Sun. 

There is a chance invites will be issued in the coming weeks following Saturday’s Chariots of Fire and the up-coming NSW Derby and the New Zealand Great Northern Derby, both to be held early next month.

Two leading hopefuls for the inaugural Rising Sun, Chantal Turpin’s Will The Wizard and Belinda McCarthy’s Expensive Ego, will build towards the Queensland winter carnival on Saturday evening in the Group 1 Chariots of Fire at Menangle.

Turpin’s husband and regular driver Peter McMullen has the first Rising Sun in the back of his mind ahead of Saturday’s NSW Group 1.

“Yeah, that is definitely the way we would be looking,” McMullen said.

“There is still a little way to go between now and then, but it will come around quick.

“That will be his target and there will be a few others that we may look towards with that race, as well.”

Camden-based driver of Expensive Ego, Luke McCarthy, has long brought horses to the Sunshine State through the winter and estimates they will again bring up a dozen in 2021.

He is hopeful Expensive Ego, who has won three of his last five, will be in the Rising Sun in a few months’ time.

“We are always a part of the winter carnival no matter what anyway,” McCarthy said.

“Hopefully we have a big team of horses to come up for the whole carnival.

“Expensive Ego will be set for that race and hopefully we can have multiple runners throughout the entire carnival.”

Patrick Estate-based driver McMullen has spent his weekdays in Queensland, working his and partner Turpin’s horses, then heading south of the border on the weekend in recent weeks for the feature racing. 

He will do the same this weekend to partner Will The Wizard in the $200,000 feature.

McMullen, who has been in outstanding form of late, likes his stable’s chance in the Chariots of Fire.

“The draw has certainly given us a bit of hope there,” McMullen said.

“He will come out of gate one, which is very pleasing, and makes us become a live hope then.

“We have come from being excited to just be in the race to now suddenly, with the gate, he becomes a good chance.

“Obviously it is a strong field the entire way through but with some of the favoured runners drawing wide, it means they will need to do work to get a position and we will have one right away.”

McMullen thinks Will The Wizard, a winner of 11 career races for just over $100,000 in stakes, will return to Queensland following Saturday night’s Group 1.

McCarthy’s Expensive Ego (pictured) was last in Queensland in 2019.

One of the leading drivers in Australia, McCarthy, would have preferred a more favourable draw for Saturday, but is still hopeful Expensive Ego can be around the mark.

“He is flying, but he has drawn the car park so it will be hard,” McCarthy said.

“He is going well, his main danger has drawn inside of him, but the barrier draw is all important.

“We need to stay positive about it all but the draw does make it hard.

“If he had drawn one to four, then he would be odds on, but with the draw now the market tells the story.”

Also, in NSW this week, driver Shane Graham and Turn It Up will be among the fancies in Friday evening’s Group 1 Newcastle Mile.

The full schedule for the 2021 TAB Queensland  Constellations is set to be released in the coming weeks.