Country sensation Paniagua set for long-awaited return

By Jordan Gerrans

After eight long months on the sidelines rehabbing from injury, former Country Cups Challenge champion Paniagua has been described as a piece of dynamite ready to explode ahead of his return to the race track.

The son of Tycoon Ruler will make his long-awaited comeback this Friday afternoon at Cluden Park in Townsville, the first time he has been seen at the races since late June, 2021.

Paniagua captured the attention of the Queensland racing industry in 2020, winning eight straight races, including the Cairns Cup and the Country Cups Challenge Final at Doomben.

That was the bay’s last victory, winless in three efforts since, and as Mareeba-based trainer Alex Malliff explains, it has been a slow and steady approach towards their stable star.

“He had what they call a lateral ligament – which is like key-hole tear – no damage was done down the side of the ligament, which is good,” Malliff detailed.

“That was under his fetlock, between his hoof and his fetlock.

“Both sides of the ligament were in tact but there was a little tear right in the middle of the ligament.

“It was just a time thing for that to fill up with scar tissue.

“He is showing no signs of injury at all, he is looking one million bucks and he is feeling terrific.”

The now five-year-old was scanned a few times in his eight months away from racing, with his veterinarian eventually ticking off his recovery. 

In his return to the track, Malliff and wife Kellie Buckingham – who rides much of the yard’s track work – have had to shift their training approach with the versatile gelding.

Paniagua now spends more time swimming and walking, with less of his work with the saddle on his back galloping compared to the preparation where he went on the long winning sequence.

As Paniagua thrived under his old training regime, Malliff is unsure if the new plan for him will lead to the same results, but he is optimistic the horse is in as good a condition as he can be ahead of his first-up assignment.

“It is exciting,” he said.

“He looks like a piece of dynamite that is ready to explode.

“He runs into the pool when we take him out for a swim, he runs and dives in, he just wants to go.

“He is going to be a lot of fun. Hopefully he will be on to bigger and better things following Friday.”

A small but classy field will contest the Open Handicap over 1400 metres on Friday that Paniagua will return in.

He was handed 62.5kgs by the handicapper which will come down following FNQ apprentice Rachel Shred’s three-kilogram claim.

With big weights going to be something Malliff and his stable will need to deal with if he continues to race in North Queensland, the trainer says another South East campaign may be on the cards if he was to win first-up this week.  

If the eight-time career winner is to remain in NQ for the remainder of 2022, he is likely to go on a Cups campaign up the coast through the Northern Queensland Winter Racing Carnival.

While Friday may shape his upcoming preparation, Malliff stressed the run was just a kick-off point, not a grand final.

Paniagua was famously purchased for just $600 and has gone on to win over $300,000 in prize money, including $71,300 in QTIS bonuses.

While Paniagua became a gun race horse for the stable and his connections – who are spread out across the Sunshine State – he is more than just a galloper for the team.

He has led to new stable acquisitions such as Love On Sunday, Lightemup Jerry and Grazie, who are all recent winners in NQ.

“It is not just the monetary value of a horse like this, it is the sentimental value for us,” Malliff said.

“The horse sort of put Kellie and I on the map and put us in a financial position to buy a little bit better quality of horse going forward.

“We are not a big team of horses but I think we have a bit more fire power than we did before Paniagua.”