A stroke of luck – or misfortune, depending which way you look at it – saw About Time nominated for the Narrabri Cup and the gelding made the most of the opportunity to take out the feature race on Saturday.
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Gunnedah trainer Gavin Groth had initially entered the six-year-old into the Gunnedah Cup last weekend which was rained out.
Groth looked ahead and saw the rescheduled Narrabri Cup on the calendar and nominated About Time which started as an equal favourite for the 1200-metre race.
“It just worked out that way, he wasn't a certainty [to race],” Groth said.
“We had him in the Gunnedah Cup but that was washed out, so this was a bit of a secondary plan.”
In the end, About Time won comfortably by 3.8 lengths but Groth said his horse didn’t always look like a sure thing.
A good ride from jockey Ken Dunbar saw About Time sit third on the fence trailing just behind the two leaders.
Inside the 600 metres, Dunbar peeled to the outside and “rounded them up” as Groth put it.
“I still didn't know [he was going to win] until he went past the leading horse and then he ran away with it,” Groth said.
About Time completed a double for the Groth-Dunbar combination on the day after Jazzee Nicc won the second race of the day.
Leica Boot also snared third on the day for the pair in the fourth race, making it a sensational day for both trainer and rider.
“Absolutely, that’s what it’s all about – going to the races and getting a winner. It’s a credit to the whole stable,” Groth said.
With two wins from his last three starts, About Time has started to find form.
That form and it not being an ideal time to spell the gelding will see Groth refrain from sending him to the paddock.
“He’s the sort of horse that likes to keep fresh, he should be having a spell but I don’t think it’s a good time to spell him in the winter,” Groth said.
Groth’s busy run will continue with trips to Cessnock on Monday, Tamworth on Tuesday and Scone on Wednersday scheduled.
In the other races at Narrabri, Luke Cumberland steered I’ll Tell You How home in the first race of the day for trainer Jeremy Everson.
Hoop Jodi Worley took out back-to-back wins when she won by a nose on The Cabarita Kid in the third before Below The Belt won by two lengths in the fourth.
The last race of the day went to trainer Brian Young.
He finished off the day with a win as Blitzableiter took out the last with Billy Cray on board.
