By Garry Dell
Despite a winning double at Townsville's Cluden Park on Tuesday, emerging trainer Leslie Gordy and stable staff spent a sleepless night treating injured stable star Bullion Wolf.
The eight-year-old gelding was stripped from behind during the Open Handicap over 1400 metres, which was won by Tennessee Boy, and sustained injuries to his offside hind.
"A couple of centimetres higher and it would have been the tendon, meaning almost certain retirement," Gordy said.
"We spent a lot of time treating him during the night and he was better in the morning but we're keeping a close eye on him.
"Hopefully he will come through it and we can proceed with the plans we have for the upcoming North Queensland carnivals.
"He's been very good to us and came back into work this time keen to continue on from last year's successes in the Coral Coast Cup Challenge Final in Townsville, third's in the Cairns Newmarket and Cairns Cup and winning the $150,000 Cairns Amateurs Cup over 2100 metres.
"We had mapped out a program of tackling lead-up races at Rockhampton or Mackay into the North Queensland Cup at Cluden and then the Cup's trifecta of Townsville, Cairns and Cairns Amateurs in August and September."
Gordy and a couple of his miner mates bought him for $30,000.
After two northern starts, he was off the scene for almost a year before being produced first-up at Cluden in November 2018 over 1000 metres and then back at the track again in January 2019.
He was then successful first-up off an 18-week break and won four of his five starts at Cluden between September and November 2020.
He was an emotional winner of the recent Dave Moore Memorial over 1400 metres, fresh from a 22-weeks break, as part-owner Matthew Moore is a son of Dave, who raced a number of successful gallopers with fellow publican Brian Bevan.
Dave Moore was a publican at Charters Towers before his death last year.
Leslie's father Paul was one of North Queensland's leading jockeys for about three decades in the 1980s, '90s and early 2000s.
He rode the winners of every major race from Rockhampton to Cairns during his halcyon days supported by wife Bev, who is now Leslie's stable foreman and right-hand staffer.
The 35-year-old Leslie is a fly-in-fly-out mines employee and had interests in horses with former Townsville trainer Kelly Schweida and decided to take out his own licence five years ago when his parents bought yearlings at the Magic Millions March QTIS Sales to help with Paul's treatment for ill health.
The first horse Leslie owned outright was a winner In Forgive Me and he has been joined in ownership with work mates.
He currently has nine horses in work at the Cluden stables and besides his mum employs stable hand Frankie Yates, who is studying to be a veterinary surgeon.
"I certainly could not get through the combination of working and training without mum and dad's help," Gordy said.
"If I can help repay them with winners we'll all come out on top.
"We've got all our fingers and toes crossed that we can overcome Bullion Wolf's problems."