Maureen bombs away with breakthrough city winner

By Jordan Gerrans

If former Victorian trainer Maureen Harry was ever going to win a city race in Brisbane, it was always going to be on Saturday afternoon.

Down at Caulfield in Melbourne, one of the feature races on Saturday’s program was the Group 2 Rubiton Stakes over the 1100 metres.

At 73 years of age, the experienced Harry is working away with just one galloper at Deagon these days.

In an earlier period of her training tenure down in Victoria, she boasted 13 in work and was regularly competitive in black-type racing.

The Harry stable's greatest triumph was the Rubiton Stakes of 2006 when her former grand old galloper Bomber Bill claimed the feature event.

Back in 2006, the race was run at Group 3 level and Bomber Bill was ridden by Vlad Duric – who is now also Brisbane-based - on that afternoon.

With the Rubiton Stakes being run down south, it was only fitting that Harry would break her lengthy metropolitan-winning drought at Doomben with Arizona Dreaming scoring over a staying trip.

“It was an omen, wasn’t it?” a chuffed Harry said.

“He was really destined to a win a race.”

For the record, the Rubiton Stakes of 2025 was lifted by Rey Magnerio and trainer Robbie Griffiths.

Previously based at Warrnambool in regional Victoria, Harry’s life and circumstances have dramatically changed since her big victory almost two decades ago.

She trained her team on five acres and everything was ticking along smoothly until her husband Terry suffered an unexpected heart attack.

“It took a while to get him over that and the upkeep of the property, it was just too much,” Harry reflects.

“My daughter, my grandson and her partner live up here and she suggested we come up here to Brisbane.

“We sold up and up we came – we have been here ever since.

“Terry likes it up here and he has been bouncing around – he is getting along alright and just takes it easy now. We are enjoying it up here now, it’s great.”

Now based in Brisbane’s north near the Deagon track, Harry rents one box near the late Pat Duff’s former training complex.

It is a big change of pace from more than a dozen gallopers in work to just one for the veteran conditioner.

“I had a lot of success down there, with the beach being so close and we were not far from the track at Warrnambool,” she said.

“It was good. Bomber Bill was the best we had really and Maranello Miss, she won a couple of Cups down there.

“We have had a few good horses over the time. Bomber’s Group 3 was the highlight of our career – he was a good old horse – as he won 23 races and retired when he was 11 years of age.”

Bomber Bill also won the Listed Kevin Heffernan Stakes for Harry in late 2005.

She is enjoying her time with Arizona Dreaming who was certainly a deserving winner on Saturday after a run of strong efforts.

The Harry team had nabbed a couple of provincial victories at Caloundra in the few years since the northern move, but they were yet to break through under the city spotlight.

“He’s my boy,” Harry said of Arizona Dreaming.

“This horse has been a bit of work, he’s had really bad feet which I had to keep on top of.”

In a Benchmark 70 Handicap over 2200 metres, Arizona Dreaming – a former Victorian like his trainer – was able to lead throughout from a wide gate and score by almost a length with Michael Rodd in the pilot's seat. 

“He has been knocking on the door as he has had a fair few placings,” she said.

“He has had a bit of bad luck in a couple of his runs, but he was spot on for Saturday and I knew that he would go really well.

“It was a great ride from Michael Rodd as the horse deserved to win a race and it will give him more confidence now.

“I am hoping he can go on with it and he can win a couple more for us.”

Harry is likely to give her stayer three weeks between runs before finding another suitable race in town.