Jimmy Roo hopping back to best form in Townsville

By Jordan Gerrans

Exciting speedster Jimmy Roo was a sensation in his first stint in North Queensland and now, back for his second coming, he has not skipped a beat.

Jimmy Roo did not miss the money in his first 14 efforts around the Townsville Showgrounds track, which included eight victories.

After a short stint in South East Queensland with astute trainer Tony Apap, the two-year-old chaser was back in NQ on Tuesday afternoon as an impressive winner of a QGOLD heat for the short course specialists.

Now owned and trained by Heath Ardle, the son of Orson Allen set the pace in the three heats, clocking 21.54 seconds over 380 metres, and showed he would be hard to hold out come the Final next week.

From the four, the black dog showed enough early speed to find the rail and was too strong from there.

“I trialled him the week before and he went a little bit quicker than that,” Ardle said.

“I was happy with that in the race, it was a really good run. He is a good dog all round.

“I was a bit worried about the bit of speed on the inside of him before the first corner but he was able to cross.”

Quality bitch Plum Tuckered holds the 380 metre Townsville track record at 21.35 seconds, a mark she set late last year.

Jimmy Roo's best is not far behind, boasting a career-best time of 21.54 seconds over the trip. 

With only 22 starts on Jimmy Roo's resume so far, there is still plenty to come for the emerging youngster. 

Gatton-based conditioner Apap owned and trained Jimmy Roo before he made his race day debut before he was sent north to Ardle in Townsville to gain more experience.

Jimmy Roo was a revelation for the Horseshoe Lagoon trainer as he won nine of his 12 starts over the 380 metre journey at Townsville.

“He trialled really well early on and after that he just went on with it and never looked back really,” Ardle said.

He was tried over the longer 498 metre trip on three occasions and was less effective but still ran encouraging races.

After having his first 14 starts of his career in NQ with Ardle, Jimmy Roo transferred back to original trainer Apap for seven runs through December and January.

That was always the plan for him to head back to SEQ if he backed up his potential in the north.

While he raced well at Albion Park and Ipswich, the decision was eventually made for Ardle to purchase the dog from Apap.

Ardle had his eyes on the upcoming QGOLD series – which is just for Queensland-bred dogs – when he made the investment.

Apap and Ardle have worked closely together over the years.

The Ardle kennel has enjoyed great success in the feature QGOLD races since they were introduced.

Ardle's Mali’s Gonzales won the $15,400 QGOLD Open Final at the Townsville Showgrounds circuit in early 2023.

With a top dog such as Jimmy Roo back in his kennel, Ardle was pleased to snap a long winless run on Tuesday at the afternoon meeting.

The Ardle team had not tasted success in their last 50 starters and recently also made the decision to retire Mali's Red Hot – a five-time winner from just 15 attempts – which also contributed to the lean spell.

“You have to go through the highs and the lows of it all and it makes you appreciate it more when you get a high,” Ardle said.

Ardle said he has a few pups he is working with at his kennel that he is optimistic of seeing at the races in the near future.

In the other two QGOLD heats from Tuesday, Instant Gold from the Michael Hickmott kennel also scored in 21.95 seconds while Hayley Wooler’s Hara's Grace also qualified for the Final in 21.84 seconds.

Local trainer Bobbie-Jean Chaffey again had a strong program – preparing three winners across the card.