IT was a surprise that came out of the blue, a last chance to qualify for the $300,000 Country Championship final at Randwick on Saturday week and the response has been extraordinary.
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The $50,000 Wild Card Qualifier over 1280 metres at Muswellbrook’s Glencore-Women In Mining family race day on Sunday has been embraced with enthusiasm by owners and trainers from around the state. The Wild Card was announced after the Port Macquarie Qualifier and is one final chance with the first two horses into the final.
Twenty nine horses have been nominated, the largest number for any of the qualifiers, with Muswellbrook’s hopes resting with the Todd Willan-trained Artlee.
While he might have a home ground advantage Artlee will face serious opposition from some of country racing’s leading stables.
Artlee ran seventh to Voodoo Lad in the Tamworth qualifier but was never at home on the rain-affected track. “He didn’t handle it,” Willan said.
“The horse has thrived since Tamworth and it is to our advantage that we only have to walk him across the road.”
Artlee is just the horse that Willan needs as he strives to build up his stable after only taking out his licence two years ago.
The horse has only started six times for three wins including a victory over Voodoo Lad at Scone before Voodoo Lad went on to win the Tamworth Qualifier.
At the start before that, in January, Artlee ran fourth at Randwick beaten only three quarters of a length after racing wide for most of the trip.
He was one of six horses to hit the line in a blanket finish.
Five Canberra trainers, Matthew Dale, Luke Pepper, Norm Gardner, Steven O’Brien and the mother-son partnership of Barbara Joseph and Paul Jones, have nominated horses along with Myffy Rae from Queanbeyan while Orange trainer Lee Van Den Bos has Belfrey Bat entered.
The Bathurst based Peter Stanley will start King Derota and if he qualifies it will be the Cinderella story of the championships.
King Derota cost just $400 as yearling and has won five races and been placed six times from only 13 starts for more than $60,000 in prize money.
King Derota was scratched at the last minute from the Bathurst qualifier after rearing over in the gates then escaping.
Stanley is fitting ear muffs for the first time to try and avoid a similar occurrence while the horse has since won a trial beating the good sprinter Our Canny Boy.