McGuire hopes Rothman will light up in Townsville

By Glenn Davis

The early withdrawal of topweight Bustedup has boosted trainer Matthew McGuire’s hopes of Rothman rediscovering his best form at Townsville on Thursday.

Rothman was set to clash with Bustedup in the Class 6 Handicap over 1200 metres before rival trainer Clinton Taylor scratched his five-year-old after the gelding drew barrier 11.

Bustedup was shooting for five straight wins after scoring an easy Class 6 win over a similar distance at Townsville last month.

Rothman was one of Bustedup’s victims two starts back when McGuire’s six-year-old finished sixth, more than three lengths behind the in-form sprinter on September 9.

Since then, Rothman showed a glimpse of his best form finishing second in a 1300-metre Class 6 at Ewan last month.

“Bustedup did a good job on us when we last met in Townsville and I’m glad to see he’s out,” McGuire said.

“He looks to be a pretty classy horse but when we raced against him last time, we were probably a bit too close in the run.

“Hopefully we can settle back a bit further this time.”

Since the Townsville defeat, McGuire ran Rothman at Ewan where he finished second in a 1200-metre Class 6 on September 24.

“His last run was good and he only just missed out after being trapped a little wide,” McGuire said.

McGuire, 28, has only been training horses for three years after cutting his teeth in the greyhound game.

He was one of the few who held both a greyhound and thoroughbred trainer’s license at the same time when he first started off after leaving high school.

He was always destined to be thoroughbred trainer as his mother was a trainer and his father was also a former a jockey and also trains.

“I’ve always wanted to be a trainer and I started off with greyhounds,” he said.

“I had just finished high school when I went to the greyhounds one night with some mates when I just decided to give training dogs a go.

“I’ve now got 10 horses in work so I don’t have the time to train greyhounds although I’ve still got my licence.”

McGuire is also an A grade cricketer in Townsville and works full time as a salesman for Townsville wholesaler, Emu Sportswear.