Local Cup comes calling for Peter Rowe

By Jordan Gerrans

Peter Rowe will live out a lifelong dream on Saturday afternoon when he is behind the binoculars for his first Cairns Cup. 

The Rowe name is synonymous with racing in Far North Queensland with Peter growing up in the area watching the local races at Cannon Park for much of his life. 

The long-time FNQ participant wears a number of hats in racing – preparing a team of horses alongside his father and co-trainer Trevor as well as dabbling in calling races every now and again.

Peter does not regularly call full race programs and will often fill-in for John 'Bluey' Forsyth across FNQ while in recent years he has broadcast a few races over the Cairns Amateurs carnival under the watchful eye of David Fowler.

With the biggest race on the Cairns racing calendar set for this Saturday, veteran FNQ broadcaster Forsyth has handed over the calling duties to Peter for the feature $150,000 Cairns Cup over 2100 metres. 

The significance of the occasion is not lost on the 36-year-old. 

“It is really exciting and an absolute privilege,” Peter said.

“I am very thankful Bluey and the Cairns Jockey Club have given me a chance.

“I am looking forward to it as it is always something I had hoped to do. It is great Bluey has given me a go this year.”

Peter has called features such as the Cairns Newmarket in recent years.

Born with a horseshoe lung and often restricted to spending days on the couch, Peter always dreamed of calling big-time races.

The son of stalwart Cairns trainer Trevor, Peter struggled as a kid with his condition, with a flu or cold often turning bad quickly as he was in and out of hospital.

Horseshoe lung is a rare congenital anomalies of the lung. 

With his family entrenched in the racing code, young Peter was desperate to be involved and would at home watch and re-watch the replays of the local and interstate races, while trying to call them himself.

It was his way of staying in touch with his relatives' passion when he was often restricted to the family home.

He would pretend to be like Wayne Wilson or one of the other great callers of the time.

Peter’s condition has improved over the years, he is now able to live a regular life, noting swimming helped a lot as a kid as it strengthened his lungs.

And, as his health was no longer as much of a concern as it once was, Peter chased his dream of becoming a race caller, while also helping out at his old man’s barn.

He called his first meeting as a 15-year-old, when the voice of racing in FNQ – Forsyth – was unable to be on hand at a race day.

He was given the honour of calling the Country Cups Challenge and Country Stampede Finals at Doomben in late November of last year.

Peter could be in the unique position of calling his own horse winning the feature Cairns Cup with the stable having Olympic Korchnoi set for the event.

As of Wednesday morning, Olympic Korchnoi is an emergency for the staying race. 

The Rowe team won the Cairns Cup back in 2016 Chateau Dettori when Trevor was training solo.

Chateau Dettori was owned by Peter.

The brand-new three-day Cairns Super Carnival kicked off with the Cairns Amateur Cup and Lightning Handicap at Cannon Park last Saturday and concludes with the $150,000 Cairns Cup and Magic Millions Daintree Guineas on Saturday.

The $100,000 Cairns Newmarket over 1400 metres is the feature sprint on Friday.

The Rowe camp had a big team of runners compete on the Amateur Cup program and Peter identified a couple of their horses who performed well. 

Loud Noise finished second in the Lightning Handicap to Lady Damus while Geraldine's Wish also ran just behind the winner in a maiden event. 

“The bulk of the team raced well - Loud Noise was super, I thought he was finally going to crack it in a big race,” Peter said.

“He just got pipped on the post. Geraldine's Wish, her run was enormous. Heading into the rest of the carnival, I think we are in a good spot.”

Looking ahead to the last two days of the Cairns legs of the Northern Queensland Winter Racing Carnival, Peter thinks Zi Win and Kickagoal Kenny have strong claims. 

Gelding Zi Win has finished in the money in his last four starts and will contest the Benchmark 70 Handicap on Friday while Kickagoal Kenny will face a tough task in the Magic Millions Daintree Guineas on Saturday.

“He is knocking on the door and his first-up run was super,” Peter said of Zi Win.

“Krysten is on him on Friday and I think he will be more than competitive.

“My little bloke Kickagoal Kenny is in the Guineas on Saturday and Krysten Swaffer will ride him at true weights, we are lucky she can ride that light at 52kg and he will get in low.

“We have had him since he was a yearling and we raced his mother, all things going equal – I think he is a good each-way chance.”

Also on Friday, city-winner Smart Image will be looking to bounce back in the Cairns Newmarket after an underwhelming performance in the recent Cleveland Bay Handicap at Cluden Park. 

“Every time he goes around, we enjoy that,” Peter said.

“He was a bit unlucky in the Cleveland Bay and I think some people might rule him out for the weekend, but we will see a very different horse, he loves racing here at Cairns.