Trainer Maree Young finds her Higher Love

By Jordan Gerrans

Evergreen galloper Higher Love has reinvigorated the training career of Townsville’s Maree Young and the team are optimistic they have another Cup in their sights this Saturday. 

The veteran Cluden Park trainer and her nine-year-old gelding have claimed two Cup races in recent months at Bowen.

They won the prized Bowen Cup in the middle of last month as well as taking home the Ben Bolt Cup at Bowen back in August.

The lightly-raced Higher Love will now target the 2023 Home Hill Cup on Saturday afternoon as Young aims to lift three Cup races inside four months.

The Home Hill Cup also doubles as a qualifying heat for the Country Cups Challenge Final, which will be held in Brisbane in December.

“He has been going really well,” Young said of her chestnut gelding.

“He is a beautiful old horse.”

It is fair to say Young’s stable was going through a dry spell before they picked up Higher Love in the back end of 2022.

The North Queensland trainer last prepared a winner in the 2015-16 campaign before she acquired Higher Love.

The conditioner had upwards of 70 starters in between her last winner in the 2015-16 season before her experienced gelding took her back to the winner’s stall.

He has now gone back three more times since, with four victories to his name in the last year.

Young owns the gelding with Kerry Rockemer and Terrence Gehringer.

The connections are loving their ride with the son of Love Conquers All.

“They are so happy we have got him,” Young said.

“They are absolutely over the moon, you would have no idea how excited they are. You would have thought they won the Melbourne Cup.

“Seriously, it is so much fun for them winning two Cups in a year. We felt so privileged to win a Cup race like that.”

The gelding previously did his racing with Paul Nolan (Jnr) and John Manzelmann in the early stages of his career where he predominately raced over sprint trips.

Young has slowly built him up over the middle distance trips, culminating in an 1810 metre victory last month.

She has also focused in on spacing out his runs and not over racing him.

The veteran gelding has only amassed 44 career starts at nine years of age.

Young jokes that it might have been a fluke that her charge has delivered since stepping up in distance as she has not changed his work in any way.

She made the decision after listening to feedback from her track work riders and the jockeys on race day who rode him earlier this year over shorter trips.

“Whatever we have done has worked,” she said.

“We have not changed to much work wise with him, we have never over worked him or swum him.

“It has just been the same routine throughout. It has worked for us and we are blessed it has.

“It has been a big surprise as he did not have much form over these longer distances.

“We just tried him over 1800 metres and he did it. Anyway, he has put it together at an older age.

“We are very thankful for him, he has been a good little horse for us.”

Young is the partner of former jockey Bill Cullen.

Cullen rode champion galloper Strawberry Road on half a dozen occasions in the early stages of his career before he went on his stunning race journey around the globe.

They collected four victories together at Queensland tracks.

The 67-year-old Cullen has not ridden in a race since back in 2005 but still offers Young sound advice around her gallopers.

Young says she is unlikely to travel to Brisbane for the CCC Final if Higher Love was to get the cash on Saturday.

A field of 14 are nominated for the Home Hill Cup of 2023, which will be the feature event of the club’s six event non-TAB card this Saturday.

Home Hill and Yeppoon host CCC heats this Saturday while Barcaldine will run a qualifier for the Country Stampede Final.

The $105,000 Country Stampede Final will be run over 1110 metres at Doomben in December on the same day as the CCC decider.