THE $50,000 Qube Logistics Handicap over 1600m was the sole Swan Hill success story on the opening day of the bet365 Swan Hill June Racing Carnival.
And who else would you expect to deliver the goods than superstar Swan Hill jockey Harry Coffey.
Riding the Irish bred Farnborough, which arrived in Australia in 2023, Coffey made the most of every metre in the mile after settling at the rear of the field.
Waiting patiently for almost 10000m before moving forward from stone cold last, where he had been since the field jumped, and working around the field in a race being run with genuine tempo.
Coffey looked to have rated Farnborough beautifully and timed his charge perfectly to run over the top of them.
And starting at $31, it was clear everyone had forgotten about the Galileo gelding, which had won just two of its 14 races.
Swan Hill was its first hit out since December after having a disappointing start to its career in Ireland and now showing a whole lot more in Australia.
“This was quite a good training performance and a well-targeted race,” Coffey explained.
“And I thought the race worked out beautifully after they went along at a really nice gallop, which allowed him to get into a nice rhythm,” he said.
“Sam (trainer Sam Freedman) wanted me to ride him quietly and well balanced and finish off – and we did that.
“He was really good, although he probably peaked on his run slightly late but at the 600m I gave him a bit of a squeeze to see what I had, and I nearly overdid it – and wished I didn’t.
“Because he got sort of up and running and wanted to get going and I thought we were a fair way from home but as I said it worked out perfectly and we got a lovely run and that allowed him to finish strongly, and he was too good.”
The feature event of day one was the $150,000 Pooles Accountants Golden Topaz over 1200m.
Which this year hardly sparkled in the rain, was run without any local horses and Coffey was unable to replicate his success of the previous race riding the highly fancied McEvoy trained Rue De Royale.
The Topaz was taken out by Fred Kersley aboard the Lindsey Smith trained Yellow Sam – the favourite at 9/2 – which finished a head in front of Press Down.
It was a fair dinkum free for all in the straight as Press Down fought hard to press his claims for back-to-back wins in the Friday classic.
But once in front Yellow Sam was not going to let go of the lead or his grip on the winner’s purse of $82,500.
The stable has won the Topaz before with Triple Missile and a stable representative, speaking post-race, agreed this horse’s comeback from injury and illness has been outstanding.
“We’re at Swan Hill, it’s raining, no-one cares, and we have just won the Golden Topaz, so we’re happy with that,” he said.
“Fred has got the job done and it’s just unbelievable.
“She’s a great type and everyone at home has done an equally great job of getting her ready for a day like this.
“And a big thank you to Austy Coffey, who has loaned us a couple of yards for the team.”
The five-year-old mare has had a limb injury and a stomach tumour but looked a treat in the mounting yard.
