Race favourite set for spell on sidelines as local trainer claims Townsville Cup

Images: Louise Partland

By Jordan Gerrans

Beaten Townsville Cup favourite Hara’s Skye is set for a short stint on the sidelines after coming away from Friday’s Group 3 event with a minor injury complaint.

Starting as the $2 favourite in the show-piece of North Queensland racing, the promising young bitch ran third as local hopeful Redemption Day was a popular winner of the 498 metre event.

Trained by Harold Hovi – who is regarded as the “Magic Man” in North Queensland - Redemption Day won by more than six lengths in a slashing time of 28.39 seconds.

Redemption Day’s triumph was the first for a local in the Townsville Cup since way back in 2008, with the result a red letter day for the industry in NQ.

Redemption Day’s Cup time flirted with the track record at the Townsville Showgrounds track.

The experienced trainer – Hovi - has wondered at times if Redemption Day (pictured) was ever going to get back to his best after a shoulder concern forced him away from the track for a lengthy period.

“It is a big thrill to win the Cup. We are really pleased to get him there and do what he did,” Hovi told the Greyhound Recorder.

“We will head him towards the Derby now and then the original target, the North Queensland Cup.

“He won’t be going anywhere, though.”

Redemption Day won through to the Townsville Cup Final after claiming the inaugural Townsville Wildcard last month.

The Townsville Wildcard is a newly created event for NQ trainers to give locals a direct path into the Group 3 decider, instead of running in the heats against kennels from around the state.

Despite having to settle for third place in the Group 3 Cup, visiting trainer of Hara’s Skye – Jemma Daley – thought the northern sojourn was worth its while.

The Daley kennel won two heats of the Cup – with Hara’s Skye and Hara’s Herbie – while their kennel mate Where’s The Bar was also a winner of a heat of the feature sprint race on Cup night.

As they are all young dogs with plenty of high-level racing in front of them, the 33-year-old Daley believes it was an important trip. 

“It was a massive experience, the trip away was probably the biggest thing for them,” Daley said.

“We had a few dogs who we were not sure how they would travel but they took it all in their stride and I expect them to come back even better.”

Like kennel mate Hara’s Sky, Where’s The Bar started well in the market in the 380 metre sprint race on Friday night but was forced to settle for fourth after playing up in the boxes pre-race.

From the Townsville Cup Final, pre-race favourite Hara’s Skye has picked up a minor niggle to her sesamoid and is set to be further examined by a precautionary x-ray in the coming days.

Daley stresses she believes the dog is fine, but the team is just keen to rule out any more serious issues with an x-ray.

The two-time Listed level winner in recent weeks will miss the upcoming Ipswich Futurity series as she rests from the minor injury.

“I was pleased with the result, she is still a young dog with so much racing left in her,” Daley (pictured) said of the Townsville Cup outcome.

“She has pulled up with a little niggle and we will give her a few weeks off and start again.

“We will look towards the Rising Stars and the Futurity at the end of the year at Albion Park, they will be her main goals now.

“We will try and get her right.”

Hara’s Skye was one of the hottest dogs in the Sunshine State leading into the Townsville Cup Final, winning seven of her previous eight starts.

The trainer says there is no rush with dogs in her kennel, such as Hara’s Skye and the other promising youngsters, as they have just turned two years of age and the recovery and time should serve them well.

Also on Friday night at Townsville, Robert Jacobsen and Laurence Wode both prepared winning trebles across the 12-event program, while leading Rockhampton dog man Kenneth Boody also picked up a double with his kennel.