Townsville owner sees a bright future in Mad Bunch

By Josh Spasaro

Like the talented colt he rode to third in the QTIS Jewel for two-year-olds, jockey Aidan Holt believes Mad Bunch has a bright future.

The Townsville jockey piloted Better Blitzem to place and claim $45,000 in prizemoney in the juvenile sprint over 1200 metres at the Gold Coast Turf Club on March 14.

And, on Tuesday night, the owner of Mad Bunch will oversee his three-year-old dog starting from box two in the $3,350 Free For All over 380 metres at Townsville.

Mad Bunch won his last start for trainer Tony Parker over the same distance, crossing the line in 21.89 seconds.

The Aston Rupee and Flyrite chaser displayed a good long stride on the home straight, defeating runner-up Ashy Bear by three quarters of a length.

“He’s been going fair and I’m pretty happy with him. I thought he was a box seven or eight type of dog,” Holt said.

“But, he won from the four the other day.

“Tony does a good job with him. He’s a big unit.

“Eventually, he said he should get out to 498 metres. He’s a bit young, but I just leave it with him.”

Holt said he became involved in greyhounds through family horse veterinarian Des Viero.

Viero is the senior practitioner at Burdekin Veterinary Services.

“I like the dogs, like all sport. But, I just thought I’ll get involved,” Holt said.

“We tried to get a dog to race on Townsville Cup night because our horse vet sponsors the night.

“She invites us there and gets a few tables. And, I thought it’d be all right if we try to get a dog on Townsville Cup night while we’re there. That was how it all started.”

Meanwhile, Holt said he was delighted with Better Blitzem’s effort to get third in the QTIS Jewel on March 14.

The Better Than Ready colt’s performance was all the more admirable given Holt’s wife and trainer, Georgie, had to drive 20 hours to transport her galloper down south with their two children due to floodwaters.

“A lot of people know the background on how he had to get down and then he ran an enormous race,” Holt said.

“He’s got a bright future. He’s got the absolute right temperament, even as a colt.

“Georgie left and she was about an hour too late. The highway closed at Proserpine.

“She had to go back inland at Bowen to Collinsville, then inland, come through Gracemere to 'Rocky' and stay there for the night.

“And, off to the Gold Coast the next day. It was a good effort.

“You probably wouldn’t have attempted it with a filly. He handled it a treat. I think his temperament is going to take him a long way.”

Holt said his wife Georgie currently trains 18 horses.

“We juggle them with freshen-up spells. Or, if they’re not paying their way or running in the first three, we’ll move them on because we’re not in the business of taking our owners’ money,” he said.

“You couldn’t pay me to do her job. It’s a huge effort. I’m very appreciative of what she does.”