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By HARRY CLARKE
THE town which in recent years produced champion sprinter Rothfire and million dollar earner Rudy is celebrating further big smoke racing success, as another exciting new runner notches up its first metro win and a former local bloodstock agent’s purchase lines up for Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup.
Chinny Boom, bred and owned by Chinchilla’s Mark Pascoe, put to bed any doubt she belonged in the city races when the filly romped home two lengths ahead in the 1000m Canadian Club 3YO QTIS Handicap at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
That brings up five wins from five starts for Chinny Boom and also the first city win for the horse’s Rockhampton-based trainer, Clinton Taylor.
It was also the first city win as an outright owner and breeder for Pascoe, who owns Chinny Boom’s mare Imanoremiss and has a share in his sire, Spirit of Boom.
“It was a fantastic day. There was a huge crowd at Eagle Farm and we had a ball,” Pascoe said.
“It’s always hard to be confident. We thought she should be able to beat them based on the times she’s been running but you never know, especially when you come down to Brisbane and they’re all a bit faster.
“Clinton’s doing a great job with her and we’re excited to see what happens from here.”
Pascoe and Taylor are now aiming Chinny Boom for the $125,000 Listed Mode Plate at Doomben on December 3.
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Meanwhile racing bloodstock agent and former Chinchilla local Jim Clarke is pinching himself as one of his recent international purchases prepares to race in the Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday.
The 6-year-old gelding Arapaho, which Clarke bought from France at the end of 2020, is trained by Sydney-based Bjorn Baker and has drawn barrier 19 for the race that stops the nation.
Clarke, a former racing manager for Baker and also for Godolphin’s European operation, sources young runners locally and abroad for some of Australia’s top trainers.
Over the past three years he’s had horses shipped from overseas for the likes of Gai Waterhouse and Ciaron Maher, as well as several for Baker.
Clarke said he was thrilled to see one of his purchases in the mix at the pinnacle of racing.
“The first bet I ever had was when my dad put money on Doriemus for me when he won the Melbourne Cup (1995) and that’s what sparked my interest in racing as a kid. I always dreamt of being involved in the race in some fashion,” Clarke said.
“It was a great experience bringing runners from the UK with (Godolphin trainer) Charlie Appleby a few years ago, and to now have Arapaho running is a proud achievement for my first three years as an agent.
On Tuesday afternoon Clarke will have to watch the Cup from his mobile phone at Sydney’s international airport because he’ll be en route at the time to Kentucky for the upcoming Breeders Cup and American broodmare sales.
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“When we bought Arapaho we never really bought him thinking he would be a Melbourne Cup horse because he didn’t really have the distance profile or the pedigree to run two miles,” he said.
“So he’s a bit of a question mark at two miles but it’s sort of uncharted territory until you put them in there and have a go. But it’s a two mile handicap with 24 runners and, as we saw with Prince of Penzance a few years ago, anything can happen in a Melbourne Cup.
“He’s going to have to be at his best to win it but I think he’s a top ten chance.”
Incidentally, these two Chinchilla thoroughbred success stories come as the Chinchilla Race Club prepares to host a big Spring race meeting in the town this Saturday, which will include qualifying races for the 2022 Country Stampede and Country Cups Challenge.
