Deciduous looms as Northern Queensland Winter Racing Carnival contender

By Jordan Gerrans

With the Northern Queensland Winter Racing Carnival on the horizon, Kerrod Smyth is optimistic in-form galloper Deciduous will be prominent across the Rockhampton and Mackay legs of the rich period of the year.

Deciduous is coming to the end to a long campaign where he has been in work since arriving in Central Queensland from the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott camp in Victoria.

The four-year-old stayer recorded his fifth victory since late August of last year for Smyth on Saturday afternoon in the $35,000 Mackay Amateur Cup over 1800 metres.

The Amateur Cup in the ‘Sugar City’ is a precursor to the carnival proper kicking off in Rockhampton in the coming weeks.

On Saturday’s performance, Deciduous looms as a major player in the looming Rockhampton and Mackay Cups.

The 66-year-old Smyth has warned the chestnut gelding is nearing a break, but the trainer has the Tattersalls Gold Cup over a mile on his agenda in the middle of next month at Callaghan Park before turning his attention to the $150,000 Rockhampton Cup on July 5.

He will consider heading to the Mackay Cup over 2000 metres later in July if Deciduous is still racing well.

“That would nearly be the end of the prep as he has had a long campaign,” the trainer said.

“He has been in work for some time now.

“I am just a bit reluctant to spell him into the winter, compared to doing it in the autumn or the spring when they do well.”

If Deciduous was to perform well in Rockhampton and Mackay, Smyth would consider heading further north to Townsville and Cairns during the carnival with the gelding.

Deciduous was aided by a clever ride from the experienced Warwick Satherley to nab Saturday’s Amateur Cup at Mackay’s Ooralea track.

Satherley lobbed the gelding in a forward position from the second widest gate and presented him at the top of the straight as Deciduous fought off the well-supported Cabalo Escuro in the concluding stages. 

“He is a The Autumn Sun so he would get 2000 metres, I think he has run fourth over 2000 metres in Victoria just to prove that,” Smyth said.

“He is still a young horse that needs maturing.

“He is a fair hose that is getting through his benchmarks.”

Satherley collected a winning double on Saturday’s program as he scored aboard Yubetido for Glenda Bell earlier in the day.

Deciduous has been a revelation since arriving in the ‘Beef Capital’ of Australia.

He has finished in the top two in eight of his last 10 starts, which has included four victories.

The team of Bott and Waterhouse won a maiden with Deciduous before deciding to move him on.

Smyth’s son Nelson helped his father pick up his new carnival contender in the middle stages of last year. 

“He was assistant trainer at the time for Bott and Waterhouse and he identified him as a potential improving young horse with a bit of maturity,” the Rockhampton-based trainer said.

“Nelson rides work for them and was clocking this horse twice a week.

“He was not good enough for the Bott and Waterhouse camp at Flemington but we identified him as sound, Nelson did, and thought he would progress.

“We only paid $20,000 for him so he was relatively cheap.

“He won quickly after arriving here and he has won around $70,000 for us.”

The Smyth camp has three gallopers nominated for the Rockhampton Jockey Club meeting on Friday.

Northumbria is set for the Benchmark 58 Handicap over 1200 metres while he has two runners entered for the Maiden Handicap over a mile - Check One Two and Boom Crusher. 

Boom Crusher was previously prepared by Billy Healey at Caloundra and has placed on eight occasions from 17 attempts. 

“He will go well on Friday,” Smyth said.

“I bought him online not long ago and he ran second at his first start for me.”