Townsville newcomer Siren Rock books northern Cups campaign

By Glenn Davis

Former Victorian Siren Rock earned a shot at next year’s northern winter carnival with a commanding victory in the Townsville Amateur Cup at Cluden Park on Sunday.

Siren Rock, ridden perfectly by Nathan Day, was in the second half of the field in the middle stages of the race before bursting from the pack 200 metres out from home to grab a commanding win over Helmaz.

Siren Rock was originally trained by Anthony Freedman in Victoria but managed only two wins in 12 starts before he was moved on to brother Lee Freedman on the Gold Coast.

After struggling in two starts in the state’s South East, Siren Rock was sold for $16,000 and headed north to the Townsville yard of Georgie Holt.

Under Holt’s care, Siren Rock has now won twice while finishing second in his only other three starts.

Holt believes Siren Rock is a worthy contender for next year’s Cup races during the North Queensland winter carnival.

“He was eligible for a Class 3 on Sunday so the win in this grade was outstanding,” Holt said.

“When he first came here, he was struggling in the heat for a few weeks so he’ll definitely go for a spell now.

“The heat was a bit of a shock to the system for him so he’ll go for a break and aim up for the winter races next year.

“He’ll definitely get 1800 metres and hopefully he’ll run 2000 metres for the Townsville Cup.”

Meanwhile, North Queensland’s star sprinter Yes Dream spoilt celebrations for Toowoomba trainer Lindsay Hatch when he downed Bondi Beau in the Townsville Amateur Sprint.

Yes Dream, ridden by Townsville’s jockey of the year Lacey Morrison, powered home to edge out a brave Bondi Beau.

Hatch was hoping to land the sprint with his first feature runner from his new satellite stable in Townsville.

Yes Dream was having his first start since finishing second at Cairns in the middle of September and took his record to an outstanding seven wins in 11 starts, which included an Eagle Farm victory in July.

Yes Dream was bred by trainer Michael Lee, who won a Queensland Cup with Regal Punch in 2004.

Lee is undecided about Yes Dream’s immediate future but he’s a likely visitor to Brisbane for the Queensland summer carnival next month.

“I was confident going into the race he would run a big race and he was under a lot of pressure 200 metres out but he fought on well,” Lee said.

“I’ve won a Townsville Lightning but this was my first win in the Townsville Amateur Sprint.

“I’ll see how he pulls up before deciding if he has another run here or he may go straight to Brisbane for the summer races.”