By Garry Dell
Unbeaten North Queensland two-year-old champion of last season Missile Thunder is making steady progress for a return to the racetrack.
Tolga trainer Roy Chillemi said the sprinting star had shown signs of good recovery from a knee operation to remove bone chips during a long spell over winter and summer.
"He's up to three quarter pace in track work and we're steadily building up to full-on work over the next few weeks," Chillemi said.
"We've had a few hiccups with the wet weather over the summer but that's all behind us now and we'll be building up the workload in preparation for the carnivals.
"I'd like to think Thunder could be ready to resume in a lead-up to the Lightning at Cluden in June and maybe progress to the Cleveland Bay.
"It's a big ask for a three-year-old, I know, but this horse hasn't put a foot wrong so far and we've put him in the same category as our other good youngsters over the years in Tyzone and Palencia, who were both very good two-year-olds and continued on."
Palencia, a son of Melbourne Group 1-winner Palentino, progressed from winning the Northern 2YO Classic to a capable three-year-old and showed in recent starts that he will be a worthwhile representative in carnivals events.
Chillemi believes the four-year-old - Palencia - has matured and could potentially get over 1600 metres or slightly more later in the season.
In other good news for the Chillemi stable, regular jockey Stephen Wilson is ready to resume riding after an enforced lay-off with ankle and foot injuries.
Meanwhile, the juggernaut headed by flamboyant hotelier and developer Tom Hedley is gaining momentum with highly-rated gallopers in the stables of Stephen Massingham and Fred Wieland making their mark.
Massingham's promising sprinter Armour Force was a brilliant first-up winner at Cairns' Cannon Park last Friday and last year's carnival stars Prime Ruler and Star Status are building up to a return to the track.