O'Dea and Hoysted proud of season's achievements

By Glenn Davis

The training partnership of Steven O'Dea and Matthew Hoysted hope to start the new racing season on a winning note with five starters at Eagle Farm on Wednesday.

The O’Dea-Hoysted team finished the 2021-22 season in third place with 59 wins, well behind Tony Gollan, who recorded his ninth straight Brisbane metropolitan premiership with 90 wins.

Chris Waller collected 74 wins for the campaign.

Gollan won his first metropolitan premiership in 2013-14, then broke the late Bruce McLachlan’s record of city wins with 79 wins the following season, before cracking 100 city winners for the first time in 2019-20.

However, O’Dea and Hoysted had the honour of finishing last season with the best metropolitan strike rate of any trainer in the top 20 with 25.9 per cent from its 228 starters.

David Vandyke had the next best city strike rate with 18.7 per cent just ahead of Waller with 18.3 per cent.

“Steve and I are both very proud of our achievements last season, particularly as we’re only a medium sized stable,” co-trainer Hoysted said.

“It’s been a phenomenal season which we hope to build on it this season.”

O’Dea and Hoysted hope Prince Shalaa can win the first metropolitan race of the new season in the QTIS Three-Year-Old Class 1 Plate.

They also have Our Armistice in the Maiden Plate, Fetch in the Class 4 Handicap, Secret Tales in the Benchmark 70 Handicap and He Knows in the Benchmark 68 Handicap.

Prince Shalaa, a Boris Thornton mount, has started only once, winning his maiden at Doomben in February, but has trialled well by winning at Deagon in the middle of July.

“We hope we can win the first race of the new season with Prince Shalaa,” Hoysted said.

“He’s a really nice horse who was a big kid and a colt when he won his first start.

“He’s been gelded since then and it looks like the penny has dropped with him.

“He’s got a bit of class and he’s our best of the day at Eagle Farm.”

Hoysted also is hopeful of a strong performance from Secret Tales, who is coming off a last start third to Bentley Magic in a Benchmark 75 race on a heavy track at Eagle Farm on July 23.  

“Secret Tales has a good chance but unfortunately she’s drawn awkwardly,” he said.

“If she can find cover early on, she’ll be very competitive."