Roweiner's Dance up for sale ahead of Lightning bid

By Glenn Davis

Trainer Bill Kenning is hopeful gun north Queensland sprinter Roweiner’s Dance can give him a second Townsville Lightning at Cluden Park on Sunday.

Kenning won the Lightning Handicap, one of Townsville’s winter features, with Generator in 2005 and has booked Justin Stanley to partner the rising four-year-old for the first time.

Roweiner’s Dance has won 10 of his 17 starts and was bred by Kenning who raced his mother Roweiner.

The son of Sidestep was unbeaten in his first three starts this campaign before finishing a close second at his last appearance behind the Georgie Holt-trained Hurtle over 1000 metres at Townsville on July 7.

“He’s been racing well with big weights, and he should be very competitive and hard to beat again,” Kenning said.

Kenning is uncertain of Roweiner’s Dance’s future and hasn’t ruled out next month’s Cleveland Bay Handicap at Cluden Park.

“He’d need to win the Lightning well to go to the Cleveland Bay,” Kenning said.

“It’s an option for him but it’s not locked in until I see how he goes on Sunday.”

Kenning believes Roweiner’s Dance’s future in north Queensland is limited because of his success and will consider selling him if the right offer came along.

“He’s finished with QTIS racing up this way now and is being weighted out of our races here,” he said.

“If I got the right offer, I’d sell him as I still think he’s up to winning in Brisbane.”

Roweiner’s Dance was trained by Toowoomba’s Lindsay Hatch when Kenning sent him south for two runs late last year.

He led on both occasions and weakened to finish fifth at Doomben and then last in a field of 10 at the Sunshine Coast last spring.

“He’s a one-man horse and a bit of a dingo but as soon as he came home, he won again,” he said.

“He led both times in Brisbane, but he just didn’t finish off his races.”

Kenning believes Roweiner’s Dance is looking for further ground and is mystified why he performs so well as a sprinter.

“He’s bred to get much further as his mother won three times over 2100 metres,” he said.

“I don’t know why he’s sprinting so well, and I think the best is yet to come from him over more ground.”