Townsville flyer Roweiner's Dance bids for first away win

By Glenn Davis

Townsville flyer Roweiner’s Dance will be out to prove he’s not just a Cluden Park specialist when the gelding makes his first trip to Home Hill on Saturday.

Roweiner’s Dance was bred by his trainer Bill Kenning and has a 50 percent winning strike rate with 13 wins from his 26 starts.

The five-year-old lines-up in the Open Plate over 1180 metres.

“He’s only going to Home Hill because it’s a set weights race and he comes in well at the weights,” Kenning said.

“I think a few others like Tommy Buttton’s horse Northern Pride are in the race for the same reason.”

Roweiner’s Dance has never started at another racetrack in North Queensland other than Townsville’s Cluden Park.

All his wins have been over 1000 metres in Townsville except for a 1300 metre victory against his own age group as a three-year-old in December of 2023.

However, Roweiner’s Dance did have two starts away from home when Kenning sent him to Toowoomba trainer Lindsay Hatch in late 2023 when he ran at the Sunshine Coast and Doomben.

Kenning believes Roweiner’s Dance has made good progress since his last start win over Molongle Surprise in a 1000 metre Open Handicap in Townsville on February 3.

“It was a good win and he showed he’s back to his old self,” Kenning said.

“It’s onwards and upwards from here.”

Kenning is planning another assault on the Northern Queensland Winter Racing Carnival with Roweiner’s Dance.

“Home Hill is a tight little track but it won’t worry him as he’s got plenty of speed,” Kenning said.

“If he goes well, I’ll probably give him a short break soon and aim for the winter races here.

“The Lightning Handicap is the logical target but if he’s going well enough and shows me he can settle I’ll also look at the Cleveland Bay.”

Kenning has already tasted Lightning success after claiming the 2005 edition with Generator.

Roweiner’s Dance is raced by Kenning and his long-time partner Julie Bell and has been a great money spinner having collected more than $273,000 in prizemoney.

A son of Sidestep, Roweiner’s Dance was almost sold on two occasions to Hong Kong.

“I tried to sell him early in his career to Hong Kong, but he failed the vet test,” Kenning said.

“Then we looked like selling him again when we sent him down to Brisbane.”