Massingham hoping to repeat history in Northern Winter Carnival
By Andrew Smith
You would be hard pressed to find anyone better placed to talk about the thrill of success during the North Queensland winter than Stephen Massingham.
The premier Cairns trainer reached some of the greatest heights on his career with stable star The Harrovian in the 2019 edition of the Northern Queensland Winter Racing Carnival.
The cult hero created history that year by becoming the first horse to secure a Queensland Northern Crowns Series bonus following a string of victories in the feature events.
Now, the FNQ-based conditioner is eyeing off a new incentive for trainers as the 2026 Northern Winter Carnival kicks off this week in Rockhampton.
This year will see the introduction of a new Great Northern Crowns bonus initiative, with $1 million in bonus payments up for grabs.
A $500,000 bonus will be awarded to any horse that can secure all four major Cups races held across Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns.
A further $500,000 will be on offer if any horse can claim all four of the Northern Carnival’s feature sprints.
In addition, a $250,000 bonus will be awarded to any horse that can secure three out of the four staying or sprint races.
Massingham believed the new bonus initiative would attract some quality gallopers from South-East Queensland to chase the riches on offer up north during the winter.
“It really makes it hard to get in there and be competitive with those good horses, but as the races come further north, a few of them used to drop away,” Massingham said.
“But I think with this big bonus and an incentive to make them travel north, they’ll be here.
“It'd be hard to target all four - that's a long campaign to ask guys to go that way and then back.
“But to get three of them, it’s definitely doable – it’s been done before.
“My only concern is the handicapper gets you after you win one or two, and then you have got to really push to get the last couple, but it's a great incentive.”
Having gone on a golden run with The Harrovian, Massingham knows more than most just how tough a task it will be to secure the Great Northern Crowns bonus.
The cult figure – known as “Big H” - enjoyed an incredible run in 2019-20, winning eleven straight races.
The Tom Hedley-owned galloper took out the 2019 Townsville and Cairns Cups, before securing a $200,000 bonus with victory in the Cairns Amateur Cup.
“That was a ride of a lifetime - we went to Townsville hoping we could win, and we were giving him a hit out for possibly the Cairns Cup,” Massingham recalls.
“But he won Townsville, and then winning the bonus became a reality when he got to Cairns and he won.
“Back in those days it was five weeks between the Cairns Cup and the Cairns Amateur Cup, so it was definitely a hard task to keep him going for five weeks.
“He had two niggling problems in between, but that was a great thrill to win that day…it was a pretty good payday.
“He was a special horse to us, he won us over $1 million dollars in his campaign, and they don't happen very often.”
These days, The Harrovian is enjoying retirement in the care of retrainer Taylah Houchen in New South Wales.
Massingham meanwhile will turn his attention to kicking off his 2026 Northern Winter Carnival next week in Mackay.
Speed Legend will line up in the Mackay Newmarket on July 17, while Smart Legend is being aimed at the Mackay Cup the following week.
“Speed Legend went to Brisbane and just didn't quite measure up there, and then I brought him back at Innisfail the other day and he ran second and just got beaten behind Yes Dream,” Massingham said.
“He ran in Townsville on Sunday with 66.5kg on his back and ran fourth, so the prep is going really good, I’m really happy with him.
“Smart Legend won the Mackay Amateur Cup and in Townsville too and then he went for a brief spell, and he came back and he ran fourth and ran pretty good over a mile.
“He’ll race again next Tuesday in Townsville over the 1400 and then go to Mackay for the Cup.”
Fellow stable mates Kureder and Lean Eagle will be aimed at the Townsville leg of the carnival in early August.
Massingham currently has 40 winners for the 2025/26 season and is striking at 14%.
The conditioner is confident of adding to that tally over the coming weeks, believing the tropical climate will play into his advantage.
“We have a fairly good record of winning in our backyard in Townsville and Cairns,” Massingham said.
“It's hard for those blokes to travel north and keep coming north, and as they come from the south, it gets a bit warmer and sort of suits our horses better.
“Our horses are all acclimatised and they're mostly not used to the travel like our horses.
“We have to drive to Townsville and elsewhere most weeks, whereas the other trainers mostly have to travel a couple of hours up to the Sunshine Coast or the Gold Coast, but we're used to it.
“When they come into our backyard, it helps us.”
The carnival kicks off at Callaghan Park with the $100,000 Rockhampton Newmarket Handicap this Thursday.
Saturday will see the running of the $150,000 Rockhampton Cup and Magic Millions Capricorn Guineas.
Massingham said he was already eyeing off the Cairns Super Carnival which kicks off with the Cairns Amateur Cup on Saturday, August 22.
“As a carnival getting into the full swing, it's great to have thousands of people get to your carnivals,” Massingham said.
“That’s what everyone strives for, they want to win the nice, good races - we strive to win the Cleveland Bay and the Townsville Cups, our Cairns Newmarket and the Cairns Cup, that's what we all aim to do.
“To win your hometown cup, that’s the pinnacle of your season.
“And if you can get one in there and then try and win it, that’s what we try and do.”
Click here to read more about the Northern Queensland Winter Racing Carnival.
