By Glenn Davis
From little things big things grow.
That’s the approach former top Rockhampton jockey Adrian Coome is adopting in his fledging training career.
Coome retired from riding late last year following a long battle with weight problems and has slowly built his stable to 10 runners.
One of those, Steelz Time will be chasing back-to-back wins in the Class One Plate (1400m) at the Sunshine Coast on Sunday.
Coome brought two horses to Brisbane just after the Magic Millions and struck early success with Steelz Time who won in maiden class at the Gold Coast on January 19.
“I brought two down just after the Magic Millions and I managed to buy a cheaper at the sales on the Tuesday for only $2,500,” Coome said.
“It’s a filly by Benfica and I’ve got a couple of others by him back home that go well.”
Coome expects another strong showing from Steelz Time who had six starts for former Mackay trainer Lyle Wright before switching trainers.
“I used to ride a lot for his owners and I’m now training four for them,” Coome said.
“It was a good win from Steelz Time at the Gold Coast. He drew a wide gate so we just rode for luck and he got home well.
“I was hoping he’d run a nice third or fourth but he got home strongly and he’s improved a lot since then.”
Coome believes Steelz Time, a three-year-old son of Top Echelon, will prove hard to beat but is a little concerned with the race’s set weight conditions.
“It’s a set weights race but it’s doesn’t look overly strong,” he said.
“The weights don’t really suit him but I still think he’ll be hard to beat.”
Coombe has trained five winners in his new career as a trainer and is happy with the progress he’s made in such a short time.
In his riding days, Coome rode 975 winners and was the State’s leading rider three times, winning seven Rockhampton jockeys’ premierships and two in Mackay.
Among his list of achievements was winning the Rockhampton Cup three times as well as three Rockhampton Newmarkets and three Townsville Cups.
Racing Queensland webnews February 3