Livingstone trio makes it a clean sweep

By Jordan Gerrans

With just five boxes at her Deagon stables, the chances of horsewoman Sharryn Livingstone having three starters in the same race are pretty slim.

And, for the three horses to run across the line together as a trifecta, it is nearly impossible when it comes to the likelihood of it all.

But, the remarkable result occurred on Sunday afternoon at Caloundra as it was a Livingstone treble at the finish of the Open Handicap over 1000 metres.

For the record, it was Chakra Boy who won the prize while stablemates Thelwell and Click Click Boom filled the minor placings.

While the result is largely a statistical anomaly, it showcases that the 48-year-old trainer is placing and preparing her small team of gallopers to perfection. 

“It's unbelievable, but anyway, here we are,” she said with a laugh in regard to the surprising result.

“When Chakra Boy and Thelwell ran the quinella at their last start at the Gold Coast last month, I had a chuckle and said that I would do the three next time.

“Because they're all sprinters, it's the only real race that's suitable for all of them.

“So, the last three weeks, we've all been like, we're going to have three in one race. But, I actually thought they were all live chances.

“I'm not going to lie, I wouldn't sit here and say which one I thought was going to win.

“But, I thought they were all capable of winning the race. So, they just needed to get the right rides and a bit of luck.”

Chakra Boy, Thelwell and Click Click Boom are a consistent bunch – combining to win 18 career races.

Chakra Boy started as the outsider in the market of the Livingstone three, but scored from Thelwell, while Click Click Boom just snuck in for third to edge out the Jimmy Downes-prepared State In Texas in a close finish.

It was also a ladies' day out with Cejay Graham riding Chakra Boy to victory while apprentice Montana Philpot was in the saddle of Thelwell with Georgina Cartwright aboard Click Click Boom.

“I'm so proud of them,” Livingstone said.

“They all tried their hardest. The girls rode them absolutely super. I knew the race would pan out how it did.

“I knew Chakra Boy would be up near the lead. I knew Thelwell would be midway and I knew Click Click Boom would be out the back.

“That was simple for me. I knew where they'd be. I ended up, to be honest, not even knowing which one of them won because I was too busy watching Click Click Boom to see if the treble could happen.”

Livingstone owns Thelwell on her own while many of the connections of the other two gallopers were able to share in a unique winning picture.

“They're all over the moon, every owner of every horse,” the trainer said.

“I sent out an update in the morning telling all my owners how I thought the race would pan out. I sent it to every owner of every horse, the exact same update.

“They all knew where I was at and that every horse was definitely vying for the win no matter what and the reasons that I'd put on which jockey was on each horse.

“To be honest, my owner group is so lovely. They were so excited and thrilled.

“The ones that were in Click Click Boom, they didn't care that they ran third. They were just so excited to be a part of the day too. It is very different.

“I'm a little bit overwhelmed from it really. I knew I could give it a go, but I didn't know if I could really pull it off.”

Following the result and after preparing a quinella and trifecta in recent weeks, the Deagon conditioner joked that she now needs to have two horses dead-heat in a race to tick that off her bucket list.

Experienced broadcaster Terry Spargo was in the caller’s booth on Sunday at the Sunshine Coast and made special mention of the rare milestone. 

Following the result, Click Click Boom was sent for a spell on Monday morning.

The hard-working Livingstone wasn’t resting on her laurels after a career highlight result; she was quickly off to Kilcoy on Monday where she was going to perform her duties as the clerk of the course for the meeting.

“I do it for the animal, I do it for the sport, I do it for the love of the animal, not actually for the thrill of winning,” she said.

“I just enjoy working with the animals.”