Queensland Rogues chasing first winner with The Big Goodbye

By Glenn Davis

Trainer Rob Heathcote is hopeful former Adelaide sprinter The Big Goodbye can give his new bunch of owners, The Queensland Rogues, its first winner when the four-year-old starts at Doomben on Wednesday.

The Big Goodbye will be having only his second Queensland start when he’s ridden by Taylor Marshall in the Class 3 Handicap over 1200 metres.

The Big Goodbye is the first horse Heathcote has trained for The Queensland Rogues which is part of the new racing venture, the Thoroughbred Racing League which started in August.

The Racing League is state-based in Queensland, NSW and Victoria with six trainers selected to race two ready-to-run horses and four yearlings in each state.

Former National Rugby League great Billy Slater spearheads the Queensland Rogues while the NSW team - known as the NSW Tycoons - is led by another former rugby league great, Laurie Daley.

Former AFL star Shane Crawford manages the Victorian Husslers.

The Queensland Rogues’ horses are shared among Heathcote, Chris Munce, Chris Anderson, Tony Gollan, Toby and Trent Edmonds and Michael Costa.

The Big Goodbye was bought for $110,000 by the Racing League and made his debut for Heathcote going down in a photo to the Gollan-trained Ingear in a 1200-metre Benchmark race at Eagle Farm last month.

Heathcote is hopeful the four-year-old can break through to give the Thoroughbred Racing League’s first Queensland winner.

“He hasn’t run for a month because of a muscle issue but he’s a good chance,” Heathcote said.

“He came to me from Adelaide in good form and his first up run was a cracker.

“He’ll run a nice race and be hard to beat.”

The Big Goodbye is a son of Host - sire of dual Group 1 winner Eduardo, who notched up his second win at the highest level in the Doomben 10,000 during the TAB Queensland Winter Carnival.

Under Team Jolly, The Big Goodbye started 10 times for three wins, four seconds and two placings.

The only time he missed a prizemoney cheque was when he beat two runners home over 1250 metres at Morphettville Park in February.