A COUNTRY CALLER feature article about three men who were struck by lighting on a remote Northern Territory cattle station has been recognised with a Clarion Award for journalist excellence.
The annual awards, overseen by the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) highlight outstanding work of Queensland journalists in various multimedia categories.
The Caller editor Harry Clarke submitted a story titled ‘Territory tale of trauma, tragedy, hope and adventure‘, which won the Regional and Community Feature Article or Opinion Piece category, sponsored by Serafino Wines.
Judges of the category said:
Harry Clarke’s feature was a delight to read – a poignant piece on the connectedness fostered by shared traumatic experience, which was beautifully and intricately woven to achieve maximum pathos. The story may never have happened, let alone been told, had it not been for Harry who was instrumental in finding and connecting the men and later following their journey on horseback. That made it a very Australian read, thanks to Harry’s trusty gelding, Rev.
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ABC journalists Stephanie Zillman and Anne Connolly who were jointly awarded Queensland Journalist of the Year alongside their colleague, Ali Russell. IMAGE: Supplied
The prestigious Journalist of the Year award was won by the ABC Four Corners team of Anne Connolly, Ali Russell and Stephanie Zillman for their report ‘State Control’, which showed the public for the first time how tens of thousands of Australians live under the control of the Public Trustee.
The award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism was given to Seven Network sports journalist and presenter, Pat Welsh, who was recognised for fine reporting for more than 47 years in the industry.
To see the full list of Clarion Award winners visit the MEAA website.
Seven Network sports journalist Pat Welsh, awarded for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism. IMAGE: Supplied
If SIR Sydney Kidman, the undisputed Cattle King of Australia was alive today, I am sure he would be greatly impressed with what Paul Martin, the new Camel King of Australia has managed to achieve so far on his 850-acre Summer Land Camel Farm at Harrisville, 45 minutes west of Brisbane and in the middle of the Scenic Rim region.
Summer Land Camel Farm can rightly claim to be the largest working camel farm in the southern hemisphere and the third largest in the world. It’s Australia’s largest commercial camel dairy and the worlds largest camel training facility.
With its innovative and diverse camel breeding and training programs, farm tours, camel ride experiences, regenerative farming practices, camel milk, dairy and cheese production on site, camel meat processing, skin care and vodka products, homestead café, functions and event operations, it has a growing reputation as one of the key drivers of local, regional, interstate and international visitation to south east Queensland.
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Josh Lopez, the chef behind Summer Land Camel Farm’s paddock to plate experience at the Buy from the Bush Festival. IMAGE: Roger Desailly
Upon leaving school and embarking on the well-trodden path to becoming a central Queensland cattleman, little did Martin, CEO and founder of Summer Land Camel Farm, imagine the long and winding road that would take him to be crowned in 2022 the Camel King of Australia.
With a strong family background in beef cattle production Martin, who still operates a commercial cattle operation as part of a diverse agribusiness portfolio, has been at the forefront of the new breed of agri-entrepreneur who has seen and seized opportunities in non-traditional agriculture and related sectors.
Taking a calculated risk, investing in bold new enterprises, dipping deep into his well of resilience, riding a steep learning curve and always keeping an open and curious mind is beginning to reap both commercial and personal rewards for this cattle come camel farmer.
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Qld Buy from the Bush founder Kerri Brennan with Paul Martin from Summer Land Camels. IMAGE: Roger Desailly
Speaking to Martin at the recent Buy from the Bush Festival, held for the second year running at his Summer Land Camel Farm as part of a rural and regional Queensland promotional partnership with Kerri Brennan, founder of the Queensland Buy from the Bush campaign, his obvious passion for what he is doing and his entrepreneurial mindset is what one can very easily imagine a young Sydney Kidman and RM Williams had in spades.
Plans are underway for an expansion of the camel meat processing and retail sales business including a possible export focus, the camel milk and honey vodka distilling business, the camel milk and cheese production business including entering the powdered baby milk formula production and export market, and growing the camel skin care and cosmetics brands and product lines.
Alongside these core business expansion ambitions, Martin also sees an opportunity to become much more involved in the hosting and marketing of rural and regional friendly food events, festivals and markets such as the Buy from the Bush Festival and the Scenic Rim’s Eat Local and Winter Harvest Festival and become a hub for collaboration and innovation in the region.
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Camel milk and honey vodka, a favourite product from Summer Land Camel Farm. IMAGE: Roger Desailly
On the drawing boards are also the early sketch plans for new agri-tourism, on farm accommodation and agri-education and training “smart farm” initiatives.
These are also passions of Paul and his family, all of whom work on the farm in some capacity and who share his passion and drive to showcase and promote the benefits of a life on the land, the importance of looking after the land and supporting those who choose to make it their home and produce our food.
In order to fund these expansion and growth plans, Paul is eying off both a crowd funding and equity partnership capital raising strategy to take the business to the next level.
All going well, when the recently crowned King Charles the 3rd next visits Australia, a visit to Paul the 1st, the Camel King of Australia and his Summer Land Camel Farm must surely be on his itinerary.
COMMUNITY groups in the Banana Shire and Western Downs Regional Council areas are encouraged to apply for funding through CS Energy’s Community Sponsorship Program.
The latest round of funding opened on Monday 19 September 2022 and will close on 25 November 2022.
CEO Andrew Bills (pictured) said CS Energy funded projects that support the regions that host its power stations to build more vibrant, liveable communities.
“We’re proud to support projects, events or initiatives that deliver lasting benefits to our power station communities,” Mr Bills said.
“We had a record number of applications in the previous round, which was fantastic to see.”
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Chinchilla State School’s STEM Hub was a recipient of CS Energy’s 2021 Community Sponsorship Program
Fourteen community groups in the Banana Shire and Western Downs Region Council areas are sharing in more than $76,000 in funding from the previous round of CS Energy’s Community Sponsorships Program.
CS Energy offers two sponsorship rounds per year to community groups and not-for-profit organisations located in the regions that host its operations.
“In the previous round we were able to support much needed upgrades and equipment for schools, sporting clubs, and cultural groups, and events that build on the culture and community spirit in Biloela and the Western Downs.”
To learn more about CS Energy’s Community Sponsorship Program, including eligibility requirements, dates and how to apply, visit our Sponsorships section.
IN A research program running for two years, a team of archeologists and anthropologists from Griffith University has shed new light on the stories behind a renowned Aboriginal rock art site in Outback Queensland.
The Marra Wonga engravings are situated on Turraburra Station, about 70km north east of Barcaldine, and comprise an estimated 15,000 rock artworks, known as petroglyphs, and 111 stencils spread across a 160m sandstone escarpment.
Unique compositions on the shelter wall feature seven large, engraved star-like designs with central engraved pits and large, engraved snake-like designs running across and through other petroglyphs.
There’s also a cluster of human-shaped foot petroglyphs on the floor of the shelter, some with six or more toes, and, peculiarly, an engraved penis.
Researcher Suzanne Thompson in front of the engraved snake-like design, interpreted as a ‘Rainbow Serpent’ depiction (with black line showing its position). IMAGE: Supplied
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Map showing Marra Wonga rock art location. IMAGE: Supplied
Griffith researchers led by Professor Paul Tacon carried out the first comprehensive study of the ancient artwork, finding that the most prominent ‘star’ markings are likely a representation of the ‘Seven Sisters’ dreaming story.
“Ten clusters of designs spread across the length of the engraved area of Marra Wonga appear to have been placed in a particular order, from south to north, although the designs were likely made at different times, with an accumulation of these clusters and other rock markings over time,” Professor Tacon said.
“However, the order makes sense for contemporary Aboriginal community members as different parts of a Seven Sisters Dreaming story, in the correct sequence.”
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The central portion of Marra Wonga with an extensive wall of petroglyphs and stencils. IMAGE: Supplied
According to the research, the Seven Sisters are associated with the Pleiades star cluster and the Orion constellation.
The Seven Sisters are chased by men or a man and sometimes a hunter and/or clever man associated with Orion, who loved and/or lusted after one or more of the sisters.
“All rock art sites have or once had stories associated with particular designs and the sites themselves, as well as the landscapes they are a part of,” Professor Tacon said.
“But we know of no other rock art site anywhere in the world with a narrative that runs across the entirety of the site.
“It is very rare in the world today to have detailed ethnographic perspectives to sit alongside archaeological description, although in Australia we are fortunate that some remain strong, as with Marra Wonga.”
Explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell
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The research also documents European colonisation in central Queensland and the first encounters between renowned explorer Thomas Mitchell (pictured) and the Iningai people of the region:
Passage from Marra Wonga: Archaeological and contemporary First Nations interpretations of one of central Queensland’s largest rock art sites
Mitchell noted substantially constructed lean-to huts with bark tiles on the roof (Hoch 1986:14) as well as large permanent huts of a ‘very numerous tribe’ and well beaten paths (Hoch 1986:14; Smith 1994:15). Mitchell tried to avoid the local Aboriginal people, but he encountered a big group digging for mussels in a lagoon (Hoch 1986:14). ‘His party was greeted by loud shrieks of women and children and by angry shouts of the men who called “Aya minya” taken to mean “What do you want?”’ (Hoch 1986:14). Mitchell described a long-handled iron tomahawk in the hands of ‘a Chief’ but Mitchell came to no harm (Hoch 1986:14).
The Griffith University team partnered with Yambangku Aboriginal Cultural Heritage and Tourism Development Aboriginal Corporation (YACHATDAC) to perform this research.
The findings ‘Marra Wonga: Archaeological and contemporary First Nations interpretations of one of central Queensland’s largest rock art sites’ have been published in Australian Archaeology.
The central Marra Wonga panel featuring seven star-like designs clustered in three rows interpreted by Aboriginal community members as representations of the Seven Sisters. IMAGE: Supplied
SOME of the brightest young minds in Australia’s red meat industry are this week getting a front row seat to elements of Queensland’s supply chain as part of a prestigious program aimed to educate future leaders of the sector.
The ICMJ Mort & Co Intensive Education and Development Week brings together university students selected from the talented pool of participants at the ICMJ National Conference and Competition, held in Wagga Wagga earlier this year.
As part of the six-day program students yesterday visited Australia’s largest feedlot, Mort & Co’s Grassdale Feedlot south of Dalby, which currently holds about 78,000 of cattle.
The state-of-the-art facility provided students with an in-depth look at trade and short-fed programs, its integrated vertical supply chain model and the infrastructure required for modern feedlotting operations.
This year’s ICMJ program comprises 19 agricultural students from across Australia
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ICMJ students are spending a week visiting various sites showcasing the red meat supply chain
Mort & Co Transport Manager and ICMJ alumni Brad Robinson said as a leading producer of premium Australian beef, Mort & Co saw great synergy in promoting the diverse career opportunities and pathways within the red meat industry.
“Partnering with ICMJ supports the development of emerging industry leaders and exposes them to Mort & Co’s fully integrated and ever evolving agricultural supply chain,” he said.
“The ICMJ program is unique in bringing interested students together to educate and enhance their career development, and Mort & Co has experienced first-hand the positive contributions of ICMJ alumni, within and across all levels of company operations.”
The development week program also exposes students to new technologies and capabilities within the meat industry during site visits to some of Australia’s major processors including NH Foods Oakey Beef Exports, Australian Country Choice and SunPork Group’s state-of-the-art pork processing facility, Swickers Kingaroy.
Mort & Cop’s “Grassdale” is Australia’s largest feedlot, currently holding 78,000 head of catlle
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University of New England rural science student Callum Melton said the ICMJ program was a unique opportunity to gain exposure to all aspects of the meat industry.
“I’m from a primary production background and I had only ever seen that part of the supply chain so being able to see the whole process is just so interesting,” he said.
“ICMJ has opened my eyes to every single part of the industry and given me an understanding of how what you do as a producer affects the final product.”
Students will also immerse themselves in the innovative paddock to plate virtual reality experience at the Kilcoy Global Food innovation hub on the Sunshine Coast and take part in several professional development sessions designed to kick-start their careers in the red meat industry.
At Meat and Livestock Australia’s Brisbane headquarters on Saturday, students met with managing director Jason Strong and were briefed on the latest issues affecting the Australian industry and introduced to the grading systems used in the United States.
Grassdale Feedlot manager Marcus Doumany gave students in-depth insight into the operation
On the final day of the event, five students will be selected to the Australian ICMJ team.
The team will take part in a three-week tour of the US meat industry next year and compete at various meat judging competitions along the way.
Australian ICMJ Team Coach Melanie Smith said the Intensive Education and Development week was designed to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the red meat supply chain, the innovation efforts that support it, and the career pathways it offers.
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“Our mission is to inspire and develop the next generation of leaders in the red meat industry and a big part of that is understanding Australia’s position within the global supply chain,” she said.
“We want students to understand consumer demands, both here in Australia and overseas.”
ICMJ’s Intensive Education and Development Week is sponsored by Mort & Co. ICMJ is supported by foundation partners, Meat and Livestock Australia and Australian Meat Processor Corporation as well as a range of industry sponsors.
JACK Bruce’s hopes to run his star gelding Axe at the Gold Coast on Magic Millions day are boosted following the horse’s emphatic victory in the Audi Centre Toowoomba Weetwood handicap.
Bruce had told the Caller last week that a good alley would have put the 6-year-old, which he purchased online for $35,000, in prime position for the biggest event on Toowoomba’s racing calendar.
Odds drifted considerably after Axe drew barrier 14, but a gutsy ride by jockey Samantha Collett saw the gelding fight off late charge by Tony Gollen’s Mass Destruction and Garibaldi to take home the lion’s share of $150,000 in prize money.
“The wide barrier made it really difficult but she (Collett) got across really easy, got the horse into a good rhythm and the rest is history,” Bruce said.
“If you can kick on the corner here you’re a good chance, and that’s what she did. It was a great ride by Sam Collett, she’s in good form and going really well.
“This is a time honoured race. Everybody west of Ipswich wants to win the Weetwood, so I’m very proud to do that and also very fortunate to have a such talented horse.”
Bruce had told the Caller last week: “My main aim (with Axe) is for the Magic Millions carnival next year, but between now and then we can hopefully pick the eyes out of what’s on offer in Queensland.”
Winning jockey Samantha Collett. IMAGE: Michael Mcinally PhotographyAxe beats Mass Destruction and Garibaldi to win the Audi Centre Toowoomba Weetwood handicap. IMAGE: Matt Ryan / Butterfly Kisses Creations
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Thousands of punters flocked to Toowoomba’s Clifford Park Racecourse for Weetwood day, which is as much a social highlight for the Garden City as it is its flagship race day.
Queensland Racing Minister Grace Grace was there to present the trophies and celebrate another successful day for the race club despite not having much success on the punt herself.
“It is marvellous. It’s been such a beautiful day. The weather has been perfect, the racing has been spectacular and what better than the grand final – the Weetwood here in Toowoomba,” she said.
“I’ve backed a few. I’ve had them in trifectas but unfortunately they didn’t come up.”
(L-R) Face of Weetwood Brooke Higgins with Jules Robinson, Cam Merchant andSamantha Jade. IMAGE: Matt Ryan / Butterfly Kisses Creations
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The Weetwood handicap was first run in 1895 and has remained Toowoomba’s premier racing event ever since, but on New Years Eve the turf club will put up far bigger prize money for inaugural King of the Mountain.
Modelled off The Everest race in Sydney, King of the Mountain will be a $750,000 slot race restricted to Queensland-bred and trained horses.
Racing Queensland CEO Brendan Parnell said the state’s racing body was delighted to work with the Toowoomba Turf Club to bring the Mort & Co King of the Mountain to life.
“A race for Queensland-bred horses only is a fantastic initiative, incentivising the local breeding industry and the highly vaunted QTIS scheme, which provides more than $12 million in prize money bonuses each year,” Mr Parnell said.
“We unashamedly want people to back Queensland, buy Queensland, and breed Queensland.”
Successful applicants for the King of the Mountain will be announced early next month.
THE group which came together from Injune and the Hunter Valley seemed to perfectly encapsulate the spirit of the CMC Rocks country music extravaganza underway this weekend at Willowbank, south of Ipswich.
As country music icon Troy Casser-Daley told the Caller “a lot of the people here haven’t actually heard of a lot of these artists,” but Oliver Gyler, Blake Davies, Nicole Gyler, Emily Lane, Ryanne McGuiver and Natalie Tabb (pictured above) were there to simply enjoy the relaxed, social atmosphere, as well as the music.
“Some of us are from Injune and some from the Hunter Valley. We ended up being neighbours in the campsite and just hit it off,” Nicole Gyler said.
“Everyone’s so nice here.”
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Ipswich locals Keely Hansen, Olivia Croydon and Charlize Cochrane
Local Ipswich girls Keely Hansen, Olivia Croydon and Charlize Cochrane opted against the camping experience this year.
They’d ordered their dazzling, sequin dresses from America for CMC Rocks in 2020 before it was cancelled, and wanted to make sure their outfits were worn to best effect now that the festival was finally back on again.
“We’re staying at home – these outfits don’t happen in a campsite. It took us about five hours to get ready I think,” Croydon said.
“We’ve been planning these outfits for a while, preparing since it was cancelled two years ago, so we’re making the most of it now. Everyone’s just lovely here. We’re getting so many compliments. We just meet everyone and have chats.”
Adele Marris from Newport, Kerri Williams Narangba, Adam Williams Narangba, Dylan Williams Naragban, Courtney Poulton from Brisbane, Alethia Edwards from Brisbane, Michelle Weideman from Cleveland
CMC Rocks, now in its 15th year and continuing as Australia’s only three day country music camping festival, is the brainchild of veteran music promotor Michael Chugg.
He told the Caller the event had gone from strength to strength and that the best was yet to come.
“I don’t think it’s peaked yet. I think it’s still growing,” Chugg said.
“Hopefully we’ll get some more camping grounds from the Ipswich council and we can even let a few more people in.
“One of the great things about it is the international people that are here have commented about the wideness of the demographic – and how they all get notoriously drunk and there’s never any violence. That’s what country music is all about.”
Country music star Kaylee Bell performing at CMC Rocks
Headliners in 2022 include international acts Brad Paisley and Morgan Evans, who join the lineup alongside Aussie country music icons such as Lee Kernaghan, Troy Casser-Daley and Casey Barnes.
But CMC also provides a big stage for some of the industry’s up-and-comers.
Kiwi singer-songwriter Kaylee Bell came to mainstream attention when she prompted all four judges on The Voice to turn their chairs on this year’s season of the television program.
Her performance on the main stage at CMC yesterday had a huge impact, switching the atmosphere in the crowd from relaxed and casual to full blown music festival frivolity.
WATCH: Kaylee Bell performing at CMC Rocks
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Karen Underwood from York Peninsula, Jackie Gutierrez from Kooroongarra and Lynda Murphy from Rockhampton
Country music has become a bona fide life style for Karen Underwood from York Peninsula, Jackie Gutierrez from Kooroongarra and Lynda Murphy from Rockhampton.
The trio are part of a group which met on a country music cruise ship tour several years ago and they’ve been travelling to reconnect at festivals and concerts ever since.
“Country music just makes you feel free with good times and good mates – new mates,” Underwood said.
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Restless Road, the boys from Nashville, made thousands of new friends yesterday when they took to the main stage at CMC on the last leg of their Australian tour.
“This has been the trip of a lifetime,” singer Garret Nichols said.
“We could’t be happier to be here. We’re excited. We’ve never been to Australia so this is a dream come true. We’re experiencing so many first, it’s just been wonderful,” singer Garret Nichols said.
CMC Rocks will be headlined tonight by Blanco Brown and Morgan Evans, with Brad Paisley and Casey Barnes closing out the concert tomorrow.
Georgia Delves, front woman of Melbourne-based outfit Georgia State Lines, performing on the main stage at CMC Rocks
A ROMA police officer and keen endurance runner will be swapping the cattle pads of Maranoa with the well trodden streets of the Big Apple when he runs in the famous New York Marathon in November.
Senior Sergeant Dan Wicks from Roma Police is training up for the iconic event as part of a program run by Fortem Australia, an organisation which helps to foster wellbeing among emergency service personnel.
Snr Sgt Wicks, a police officer of 21 years, was initially selected as a reserve runner to be subbed into Fortem’s team of four until one of participants pulled out of the event.
Sure enough he’s now been called up and given a plane ticket to the United States and has since been training feverishly in the outback paddocks and roads around Roma ahead of the marathon on November 6.
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“When the opportunity came up for first responders to run the New York City Marathon with Team Fortem, it was an opportunity to promote the importance of health and wellbeing,” Snr Sgt Wicks said.
“With 21 years of experience as a police officer under my belt, I understand the importance of sport, fitness and keeping an active lifestyle when dealing with a stressful job.
“I am adamant that the reason I have been able to continue in my role as a dedicated police officer is due to the physical and mental benefits of keeping fit, healthy and active in sports.
“As I have progressed in my career and taken on leadership roles in the QPS, I have made it my purpose to promote and lead others in their own personal health and fitness journey.
“It can be a tough job at times, so I actively encourage and engage with all my colleagues to make positive lifestyle changes including being active in sports and physical events, especially focusing on those going through a difficult period.
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“I am adamant that the reason I have been able to continue in my role as a dedicated police officer is due to the physical and mental benefits of keeping fit, healthy and active in sports.
“As I have progressed in my career and taken on leadership roles in the QPS, I have made it my purpose to promote and lead others in their own personal health and fitness journey.
“It can be a tough job at times, so I actively encourage and engage with all my colleagues to make positive lifestyle changes including being active in sports and physical events, especially focusing on those going through a difficult period.
“It is great that we have an organisation like Fortem that is committed to prioritising wellbeing, breaking stigma, starting conversations about mental fitness, preventing and treating the deep impacts of first responder work and seeking or allowing support from loved ones and the community.
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“I hope to use the opportunity that Fortem has given me to help promote mental fitness and wellbeing support to other first responders across Queensland and the rest of the country, and am training hard to further improve my resilience and enjoy every step of the New York City Marathon later in the year.”
Since starting in 2019, Fortem has supported over 6,500 emergency services and national security employees and volunteers – and their families – through science backed connection activities, clinical services, and transition and employment programs.
There has been a total of 17,672 registrations for wellbeing activities with many more on waitlists demonstrating a response as strong as the need for evidence-based and connection focused wellbeing support for first responder families.
THE Wagner Corporation has announced a new partnership with Virgin Orbit that will see satellites launched from the Wellcamp Airport outside Toowoomba.
Virgin Orbit, an international space program owned by celebrity billionaire Richard Branson, uses rockets fired from 747 aircraft to launch satellites into pace for climate monitoring, telecommunications services, asset and tracking and other commercial activities.
Under a memorandum of understanding with the Wagner Corporation, Wellcamp Airport will become just third location worldwide alongside Cornwall in the UK and California in the United States to perform orbital launches using Virgin Orbit’s Launcher One aircraft.
“I’d have to say the state government have been very proactive with this, they’ve been a great help to bring ourselves and Virgin together to make this a reality,” Wagner Corporation John Wagner told ABC radio.
“It further cements our position around the world … this is a global development as an aerospace defence precinct. We’re very excited to be part of it.”
WATCH: Virgin Orbit satellite launch
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Stakeholders are now working to ensure approvals and regulations are in place to allow the rockets and satellites to be assembled at Wellcamp, attached to aircraft and launched from over the Pacific Ocean at about 35,000 feet.
Wagner said plans were in place to launch a test launch to occur in 2024, with a permanent horizontal launch site to follow within three years.
“Virgin are very professional, they’ve got two other space bases, one in the Mojave Desert and one in Cornwall in the UK, so they certainly know what they’re doing and are very successful in this market,” he said.
Virgin Orbit chief executive Dan Hart told ABC radio the company was thrilled to be working alongside the Wagner Corporation to bring the first national orbital launch to Australia.
“Combining their deep knowledge of infrastructure development and affinity for aerospace with our proven, responsive LauncherOne system, we have all the ingredients to bring spaceflight to Queensland,” he said.
Virgin Orbit’s Launcher One aircraft. IMAGE: Supplied
THOROUGHBRED training newcomer Jack Bruce is hoping to continue the remarkable success he’s had early in his career when he brings 6-year-old gelding Axe up the range for the Audi Centre Toowoomba Weetwood handicap on Saturday.
Bruce, originally from New Zealand, spent ten years in Sydney under the mentorship of some of Australia’s top trainers before moving to Queensland in May to establish his own business.
Since then he’s sent 24 horses to the races from his stables at Deagon Racecourse in Brisbane’s north. From 38 starts they’ve produced an impressive win rate of 29 percent.
Axe, a tried horse Bruce purchased online for $35,000, showed huge promise first up on the Gold Coast last month with a nose defeat in the Listed 1200M Atlas Golf Services Goldmarket.
The horse that won, Garibaldi from Tony Gollan’s stable, is also nominated in the 1200m Weetwood on Saturday among other strong contenders including Kelly Purdy’s Bandipur and Stuart Kendrick’s Bonaparte.
Bruce said Axe would be well suited to the Clifford Park track on Toowoomba’s biggest annual race day.
“He’s an older horse and he’s racing well and that open handicap at Listed level is really his sweet spot,” Bruce said.
“There’s some really good prize money to be won in Queensland for those sorts of horses.
“My main aim (with Axe) is for the Magic Millions carnival next year, but between now and then we can hopefully pick the eyes out of what’s on offer in Queensland.”
Before moving to the Sunshine State, Bruce worked as an assistant for leading trainers Chris Waller and Ciaron Maher & David Eustace, and as racing manager for Bjorn Baker. He’s also a graduate of the prestigious Darley Flying Start program.
He said the experience of working for the best in the business had been a huge help when he took a leap of faith and went out on his own in Brisbane.
“I was lucky with the role that I had in all three stables,” Bruce (pictured) said.
“I was given a lot of opportunity and a lot of support and that’s something I can still call upon, and also they’ve influenced the way I operate and my thought processes when it comes to training horses.
“It’s those little insights and little extras they did for me through those last 10 years that’s really been helpful when you’re starting your own business, because it’s a big step to make.
“On a personal level and certainly in racing I’ve had support from corners that I didn’t think I would, so that’s made the transition a lot easier.
“After the opening four months I couldn’t be enjoying it any more. It’s been really, really good.”
As well as Axe, Bruce is also hoping to bring stablemate Matowatapke on his first trip to Toowoomba, depending on barrier draws and the gelding’s preparation this week.
“When I worked for Bjorn Baker he ran Coolring in the Weetwood. I remember watching it on tele and seeing thousands of people and thinking it would be great to go to the Toowoomba Cup,” he said,
“When I got Axe I thought he would be a perfect Weetwood horse, and here we are.
“Every trainer loves country cups because it’s a great day out and there’s certainly a buzz about them, so I’m looking forward to going out there and getting amongst it.”
Jack Bruce’s Axe is eying its first win for the rookie trainer at Toowoomba this weekend. IMAGE: David Kapernick
