Langhro on track to make up for carnival near misses

By Jordan Gerrans

One of the hard-luck horses of the 2020 Northern Queensland Winter Racing Carnival, connections of Langhro believe the veteran gelding can make amends this week at Cannon Park.

Trained out of Townsville by team Holt – Georgie and Aidan – the nine-year-old son of Lonhro finished second to two of the best bush Queensland horses in recent years in feature races last season – The Harrovian and Deadly Choices.

It was the now-retired Deadly Choices that finished ahead of Langhro in the Cleveland Bay at Cluden Park this time last year while the now Group 1-placed The Harrovian held him out in the Cairns Newmarket in FNQ.

Owned by Ross Donovan, Georgie Holt and Peter Malpass, Langhro was fair in the 2021 edition of the Cleveland Bay earlier this month and connections are hopeful he will be at his peak for the $75,000 Cairns Newmarket this Saturday.

For all his promising efforts since moving to North Queensland, Langhro has only won twice in the last 12 months, with one of those being at Cannon Park in Cairns.

The winner of eight career races from 31 starts is regularly slugged with big weights in NQ but always puts in a decent effort carrying them.

“He handles the Cairns track all right and we go into the race with a bit of confidence,” Donovan said.

“We think he will go well.

“He ran fourth in the Cleveland Bay last Saturday after running second in the race the year before – and he has won in Cairns as well.

“We are a real chance this Saturday.”

A relatively cheap purchase, connections got their money back for Langhro after his two second-placed efforts in feature races in 2020, after previously racing in Brisbane with trainer Steven O’Dea.

Donovan has long also had horses with the O’Dea stable and is personal friends with trainer Steven’s parents.

Donovan is the Cluden Park vice-chairman in Townsville and has been on the club’s committee for over two decades, as well as being elevated to Life Member status.

The North Queensland businessman has raced dozens of horses over the years with countless trainers around the Sunshine State, currently having seven with the Holt’s in Townsville.

If Langhro can carry 57.5 kgs to victory this Saturday over 1300 metres, it would be double delight this week for the Holt family.

Trainer Georgie and jockey Aidan welcomed their second son into the world earlier this week with a big effort required this Saturday at Cairns, with seven from their barn to go around on the first day of the FNQ carnival.

“She is a great trainer and Aidan is a great bloke,” Donovan said of the Holt’s.

While Donovan has raced countless gallopers over the years, one of his best ever was Our Boy Malachi.

Retired in late 2016, Our Boy Malachi was just a genuine winner – recording 19 victories from 27 starts – three of which were at Group level, just falling short of an elusive Group 1 on a couple of occasions.

The winner of just under $1 million in career prize money, Our Boy Malachi, is loving life in retirement.

“He is a great old fella, he lives on a property north of Townsville, where my son lives,” Donovan said.

Meanwhile, there has been a significant increase in prize money for the Rosebud Gardens Class 2 Handicap, to be run over 1250 metres, in Cairns on Saturday.

The prize money for the race was set to be $25,000 before a generous donation from Clifford Little of $14,500 and the Cairns Jockey Club donating $500 lifted the purse on offer to $40,000.