Hannah Richardson stoked with double city chance

By Jordan Gerrans

Opportunities to ride in the city do not come around often for well-travelled hoop Hannah Richardson - so when they do present themselves, she grabs them with both hands.

Now based at Toowoomba, Richardson makes the trip to town on Saturday with two chances for the Bevan Johnson camp at Doomben in the Country Cups Challenge and Country Stampede Finals. 

The 36-year-old is enjoying her best season in the saddle in terms of strike-rate since the 2022-23 term. 

She has been booked to partner Magical Slipper (Stampede) and Scorched Land (CCC) who are likely to start as outsiders in the market. 

Richardson has winners on her resume at tracks such as the Sunshine Coast and Ipswich, but she is yet to land a victory at Eagle Farm and Doomben following her maiden rides in 2015.

She is hopeful she can break through at a Brisbane Racing Club track for the first time in her career on Saturday.

“It will be really exciting this Saturday riding at Doomben,” she said.

“I am really looking forward to it. I don’t get a lot of opportunities riding in town, so I am looking forward to that, riding against our better riders in the state. It will be really good.”

Richardson has competed in the Battle of the Bush Final in previous years, but she is yet to pilot a runner in the summer carnival equivalent.

Richardson mainly rides her for her husband Glenn who prepares a big team of horses at Toowoomba.

The husband-and-wife combination have settled on the Darling Downs over the last year after moving stables on several occasions in recent times.

They were initially based at Nanango before heading to Gympie, Harlin and then on to Toowoomba. 

In the middle of all the moves, Richardson was on the sidelines from race riding for a period of around 12 months following a serious shoulder injury. 

The Richardsons landed on their Toowoomba move when leading provincial horseman Pat Webster offered them stables at the Bahram training and spelling centre.

As well as preparing his own team, Webster and his family operate the Bahram facility.

Richardson says the Darling Downs shift has been a positive for her riding career, as well as her husband’s training ambitions.

“It has been a really good move,” she said.

“We are really enjoying it, the horses are going good and we really like it here. There are a variety of tracks we can train on here, Clifford Park or Bahram, compared to where we were previously based.

“There are so many options at Clifford Park, the grass and the sand track, and I think that has toughened our horses up.

“They have got a lot fitter and we have been able to go to the races a little more confident in how they are going.

“It is a great training facility at Clifford Park.”

The move has been a particularly prolific one for Richardson’s husband Glenn.

He boasts a 17 percent winning strike-rate this season, which is his best effort in that regard in more than a decade.

Glenn has Hurricane Hall from his stable accepted for Saturday’s CS Final, but the galloper is an emergency and is unlikely to get a start.

In the Stampede, Richardson will be legged aboard Magical Slipper for the Barcaldine-based barn of Johnson. 

The mare won a qualifier on her home deck in early November with talented apprentice Julie Busuttin doing the steering.

Magical Slipper then went to Roma to run fifth in another heat of the series. 

Lightweight hoop Richardson says Magical Slipper will appreciate jumping from a low barrier in the 1100 metre event.

“She does look like she has pretty decent form and has been racing consistently,” she said.

“She has drawn better than her stablemate.

“Hopefully we can get a nice run in the Stampede with her.”

In the $200,000 CCC decider, Richardson will face a tricky assignment with Scorched Land copping a wide barrier. 

The Johnson stable is not one Richardson rides for often and she picked up the engagement aboard Scorched Land at the recent Roma Cup meeting by chance. 

The jockey actually had another ride in the event who was an emergency that was not going to get a run.

The Johnson yard was searching for a lightweight female rider for the eight-year-old gelding and Richardson was ‘Johnny-on-the-spot’.

The son of Sizzling ran a massive race to finish second to Webster’s Skyforger, who is also the defending champion of the CCC.

“They were happy to have me on because they knew I knew a bit about Scorched Land,” she said.

“He does run for girls, so it worked out pretty good. He got back nearly to last the other day on the sand at Roma. But, I know he can handle the dust and the kick-back.

“Between the 600 and 400 metre marks, I was following the winner Skyforger and I thought for a few strides that I was going to get past him but in the end, the winner was too good.

“I know Scorched Land is rock, hard fit and will be thereabouts on Saturday.”

While Richardson does not often ride for the Johnson stable, it might have been fate that she would pick up the ride on Scorched Land in the $200,000 event over the mile. 

“He actually came to Bahram originally to do his pre-training before he went to the Johnson stable earlier this year,” she said.

“I know the horse a little bit. I am looking forward to riding him on Saturday. Unfortunately, he has drawn quite ordinary in terms of gates.

“It will be a tough ask from the wide gate.”