By Glenn Davis
Trainer Paul Butterworth will be a keen onlooker from Sydney when under-rated three-year-old Wonder Boom starts at Warwick on Friday.
Butterworth’s star galloper Capital Gain is in Sydney and will run in Saturday’s Group 1 Randwick Guineas as part of his Group 1 Australian Derby campaign.
The Warwick meeting will be no ordinary provincial meeting for Butterworth as he hopes Wonder Boom will race well to confirm a start in the $125,000 QTIS Three-Year-Old Jewel (1200m) at the Gold Coast on Saturday week.
Wonder Boom will have his third start in an interrupted campaign in the Frasers Livestock Transport QTIS Three-Year-Old Handicap (1100m).
The son of Falvelon is meeting a strong field which includes Liam Birchey’s promising Sista Act, Aqua De Lago from the Ben Currie stable and Michael Lakey’s last start Gold Coast winner Willowbrook Wonder.
Wonder Boom has not raced for a month since finishing second against his own age at Rockhampton on February 8.
“He’s a funny horse. I thought he would be racing in town by now but he keeps getting crook,” Butterworth said.
“I was happy with his first-up run at Rocky and he should nearly have won.
“He seemed to be cherry ripe after it but he got crook again and needed some time off.
“It’s never serious. He just gets a temperature and his blood goes haywire.
“But he comes good every time after antibiotics.”
Butterworth is unconcerned about the prospect of a wet track at Warwick but is disappointed he’s again drawn the outside barrier 11.
“He never draws a good barrier but he loves the wet so the track won’t bother him and he’s a go forward horse,” Butterworth said.
Warwick is currently rated a soft 7.
Meanwhile Butterworth is happy with Capital Gain’s progress ahead of the Randwick Guineas.
Capital Gain gave Butterworth his first Group 1 victory in last year’s J J Atkins (1600m) at Doomben.
The three-year-old failed in his first Sydney appearance in last month’s Group 2 Hobartville Stakes at Rosehill.
“His work since suggests he’s ready to run a nice race before he goes on to the Rosehill Guineas and Derby,” he said.
Racing Queensland webnews March 8