By Garry Dell
Four horses of Cairns developer Tom Hedley's ownership group staked strong claims as prime candidates for upcoming northern carnival riches with slashing performances at Townsville's Cluden Park on Tuesday.
Four-year-old’s Tennessee Boy - who is trained by Roy Chillemi - and Fred Weiland’s Prime Ruler each won while consistent place getters Endorse and Brilliant Mind, who are trained by Stephen Massingham, earned minor prize money in their respective races.
Tennessee Boy returned to the Townsville winning list with a stirring victory over Rockhampton visitor Monsieur Macron in the Vale Bill Coughlan Open Handicap over 1400 metres and Prime Ruler registered his sixth win from nine starts over 1200 metres.
Tennessee Boy, a last start winner at Cairns on May 16, started at the remarkable odds of $9 and made the most of his 54kgs against favourite Monsieur Macron's 55.5kg impost.
A highlight was the outstanding rides by Stephen Wilson (Tennessee Boy) and Justin Stanley (Monsieur Macron).
Stanley booted the favourite to the front from his rails draw and appeared to have gained a winning break turning for home with Tennessee Boy travelling just off the pace with Wilson making his move from about the 300 metre mark.
The pair staged a great struggle over the final 100 metres with Tennessee Boy gaining the upper hand in the dying stages to score by a short neck with long shot So You Dream a length away in third.
Prime Ruler was given the benefit of another classic Ryan Wiggins ride to collar the well-backed Family Star with his well-documented turn of foot within the shadows of the post to score by a long head.
Brilliant Mind flashed home for a first-up third following a break after his third place finish in last year's Cairns Amateurs Cup in September.
Endorse continued his exasperating run of five consecutive seconds in chasing home the Bill Kenning-trained Dawn Too Good over 1000 metres.
Dawn Too Good was resuming from a spell after finishing third over 1200 metres at Cluden earlier this year.
Meanwhile, it was ladies day out at Townsville's Cluden Park on Tuesday for owners, trainers, jockeys and strappers.
Apprentice Isabella Teh landed her first Townsville double for Bev Gordy (strapping for her trainer son Leslie); premiership-leading jockey Lacey Morrison and Bonnie Thomson each rode a winner.
Kelly Sheargold trained her first Townsville winner, new Chillemi staffer Chloe Taylor led in a winner and the female "Bubbles" syndicate were successful as part of the ownership of first-up winner Dawn Too Good.
Teh, who is well-known for her ambition to ride in Arabian races overseas, was successful on Double Denman and Hallside Hammer.
She gave a clever display of front-running tactics on Hallside Hammer which was another first-up winner after flying the start from the 1000 metre mark and gave nothing else a chance in the run to the line.