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Dalby trainer Pat Richardson makes annual trip to Birdsville Cup

2 September 2022

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By Glenn Davis

Dalby trainer Pat Richardson has been making the annual pilgrimage to the iconic Birdsville Cup for 15 years and is hopeful Jochberg can finally give him a breakthrough win on Saturday.

Jochberg only joined Richardson’s stable in May and will be shooting for his fifth straight win.

He has only had seven starts for his new team after moving on from Donald Baker in Toowoomba.

The eight-year-old former Victorian has won 10 of his 48 starts and is coming off a last start victory over 1640 metres on the sand track at Roma on August 20.

A good field will contest the 140th edition of the Birdsville Cup, which is dubbed the Melbourne Cup of the outback.

“People keep saying he’s only a Roma horse but I don’t believe that,” the 75-year-old Richardson said.

“He does like Roma and I call him a sand goanna as he thrives on it.

“He’s won at a lot of other bush tracks so I can’t see how he’s just a Roma horse.

”He’s going well and has been beating them pretty convincingly so hopefully he can give me my first Birdsville Cup.”

While Richardson is a regular visitor to Birdsville, he’s only ever started in the Cup twice, with the same horse, Final Tie.

“I had a horse called Final Tie, who ran in the Birdsville Cup twice in the late 1990’s, but we had no luck with him and he was probably a better horse than Jochberg,” he said.

Meanwhile, Toowoomba Matt Kropp is hopeful Bernie’s Tiger can give him his maiden Birdsville Cup after three previous attempts.

Bernie’s Tiger ran third in the Birdsville Cup in April this year when previously trained in Mackay by John Manzelmann.

A veteran of 83 starts for 12 wins and 23 placings, Bernie’s Tiger was originally trained in Victoria by Jerome Hunter before being moved on to Toowoomba’s Ritchie Stephenson and eventually to Manzelmann.

The eight-year-old has only had one start for Kropp, finishing fourth in a field of five over 1640 metres at Roma on August 20.

“He was up north with John Manzelmann and he set him for the Birdsville Cup when he ran third in April,” Kropp said.

“He’s been there and knows what to expect and he’ll cope with the prickles, flies and dust.

“I’ve had three goes at winning this race and the best was a placing but I’d love to win it.”

Races

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Birdsville | Birdsville Race Club Inc | 3:59 PM

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