Isabella Teh set for extended North Queensland stay

By Jordan Gerrans

Rising apprentice Isabella Teh feels she has moved a couple of steps forward in her riding career after making the call to relocate to North Queensland.

Previously under the care of Group 1-winner trainer Danny Bougoure in South East Queensland, the 26-year-old Teh earlier this year started a three month loan spell with Sarah Acornley out of Townsville's Cluden Park.

The loan has been extended to a permanent move this week as Teh aims to cement herself in the NQ riding ranks.

Teh goes in search of feature riches this Saturday in the Cairns Newmarket, which is a part of the 2022 TAB Northern Queensland Winter Racing Carnival.

While Teh enjoyed her time working with Bougoure, she was a little lost in her direction as a rider and thinks she has found it in the north.

The majority of her previous riding opportunities came on the country non-TAB circuit whereas now Teh can pick up engagements at Townsville, Mackay and Cairns at provincial level.

“I was just a bit stuck with my riding and I did not really know the best way to progress in my career,” Teh said.

“Danny suggested I head away and do a stint in the winter in the north, just to get more riding experience and race riding, and then the improvement would come.

“I took on the opportunity and gave it a crack.

“I have decided to stay on a little longer and really knuckle down and hopefully improve even more as I am really enjoying.

“I believe I have moved a couple of steps in the right direction from where I was in Brisbane but there is always room for improvement.”

The up-and-coming hoop has already made a positive impression in NQ, with Townsville trainer Matthew McGuire impressed with her work ethic.

“Since arriving in North Queensland, Isabella was very approachable at track work,” McGuire said.

“We asked her to ride a couple of horses work for us in the mornings and due to her commitment we rewarded her with a few race rides such as Kittykittybangbang, who is racing in the Belle of the Daintree this weekend at Cairns. 

“I noticed that she takes particular interest in horses that she rides work and has built a strong relationship with ‘Kitty’ now and hopefully they can put in a really good performance together on the weekend.”

The Cluden Park stable of Acornley is also backed by the trainer’s husband Carl Spry.

The 38-year-old Spry has ridden all over Australia at provincial and metropolitan level and is certain to be a perfect guide for Teh’s career.

“They look after me quite well and they are very relaxed and family oriented,” Teh said of the Acornley and Spry barn.

“It is good that I can get support with work and riding, as well as personally, so it is great in that way.”

With Acornley only having a small team of gallopers in work, Teh is able to ride outside track work and gain more contacts, including that of fellow Townsville trainers such as McGuire and Les Gordy.

The light-weight hoop will use those connections this Saturday as the carnival turns to FNQ for the annual Cairns Newmarket meeting.

A massive 10-event program will be run at Cairns’ Cannon Park, with Teh having a strong book of seven engagements.

She is booked to ride Bullion Wolf in the $75,000 feature, a race the veteran galloper ran third in last year.

The bay gelding has gone around in the Mackay and Townsville Cups in his last two starts and has been freshened up back to the 1400 metre journey for the Newmarket.

It would be the biggest victory of Teh’s career so far if she could snare the Newmarket.

“He is a very good horse that has been working well of late,” she said.

“He is just starting to feel himself again, he is starting to get a bit cheeky and they tell me that the naughtier he is, then the better he will race.

”Hopefully he can let rip on Saturday and get back to his normal self on race day.

“He is a horse that I have put a lot of time into, I ride him almost every day, so it would be really nice for the team and the horse if he could win this race.”

Teh described Gordy’s gelding as a tough horse, as the nine-year-old is nearing retirement.