By Glenn Davis
Jockey Dean Yendall was lucky Darren Weir was not trackside to witness the trainer’s first Listed Ipswich Cup win with Tradesman on Saturday.
Weir watched from Melbourne as Tradesman wore down local hope First Crush to score by a head with All In Vogue, third, a further 3-1/2 lengths away in the 2150-metre feature.
Weir was scathing over Yendall’s ride when Tradesman was forced to travel three deep most of the way before being shunted even deeper on the home turn.
“It was a butcher’s job and I don’t mind if you say it,” Weir said.
“I thought he would get back but I didn’t expect him to be three and four wide with no cover and then go so wide on the home turn.”
Weir has never trained a winner at Ipswich and will now push on with Tradesman to the Listed Caloundra Cup (2400m) at the Sunshine Coast in two weeks.
“He’ll go on to the Caloundra Cup now and I might even take him to Grafton for the Cup there,” Weir said.
“I’ve had a few runners at Ipswich over the years but the Ipswich Cup is my first win there.”
Yendall conceded his ride wasn’t pretty but was glad to get the job done.
“It was a massive effort after being three deep with no cover,” Yendall said.
“But I knew he had to stay in touch. My only problem was whether he’d get around the track as it was pretty tight out there.”
Tradesman’s win denied trainer Chris Munce the chance of winning the Ipswich Cup as both a trainer and jockey.
Munce won the Ipswich Cup on the John Wallace-trained Oompala in 1994.
Meanwhile Newcastle trainer Kris Lees celebrated a personal milestone when Envy Of All claimed the TL Cooney QTIS Three-Year-Old Handicap.
Envy Of All downed Basra by three-quarters of a length to give Lees his best ever season with 161.5 wins, one more than last season’s record.
Stable foreman Cameron Swan said Envy Of All’s habit of laying in cost her victory at her previous start when runner-up to Miss Exfactor at the Sunshine Coast on June 2.
“She still wanted to lay in today which cost her at her previous run but she ended up getting a perfect run,” Swan said.
“It’s important for the stable to keep winning races especially for her owners Gooree stud who have been great supporters.”
Earlier the Sheila Laxon-trained I Feel Good gave bookmakers a bonanza result with an upset win in the Winter Provincial Stayer’s Cup Final (2150m).
The Ben Currie-trained Kay Boy tried valiantly to lead all the way but just as he was collared by Ready For Danger near the line, I Feel Good nailed both to win by a short half head.
I Feel Good’s win revived memories of Sheila Laxon’s first Brisbane winter carnival winner, Ethereal who won the Group 1 Queensland Oaks in 2001 before going on to claim the Caulfield-Melbourne Cup double.
Rising 10-year-old I Feel Good was runner-up in last year’s Stayer’s Cup Final and may have earned a start in the Listed Caloundra Cup (2400m) at the Sunshine Coast in two weeks.
His career has been plagued by injury which saw him sidelined for nearly three years.
Racing Queensland webnews June 16