Choir Boy delivers Ryan fifth Cairns Cup

By Glenn Davis

Tolga trainer Janel Ryan lived up to her reputation as the Queen of country racing when Choir Boy gave her a fifth Cairns Cup at Cannon Park on Saturday.

Choir Boy, a horse who survived a serious leg injury just over a year ago, proved too strong for Brisbane galloper Zoology with a dominant performance for a near two-length win in the 2100 metre feature.

Coming off a last-start Banana Cup victory at Innisfail, Choir Boy was well ridden by jockey Ivo Fry to claim his 13th win in 62 starts and his eighth under the guidance of the American-born Ryan.

“I thought he could win on his recent form as he’s been carrying big weights in his recent starts,” Ryan said.

Ryan will now try to qualify Choir Boy, who is lucky to still be racing, for the Country Cups Challenge Final at Doomben in December.

“He got an infection in his leg a couple of starts after he won the Laura Cup last year,” Ryan said.

Ryan landed in Australia decades ago and spent 11 years in Cairns before moving to Tolga on the Atherton Tablelands over a decade ago.

Along with her husband Ronnie, the pair have won a host of features in North and Far North Queensland.

Ryan had previously won the Cairns Cup four times with Pretty Fox, Sea Fight, We Just Love It and Tutelage.

Earlier, trainer Tom Button claimed his first feature win from his new Townsville training base when Bianca Mia won the Magic Millions Daintree Guineas.

Ridden by Ben Kennedy, Bianca Mia sat in the box seat most of the way before making her winning run just before the home turn.

The former Sydneysider is raced by prominent Townsville owner Joe Rapisarda and was having only her third start for Button.

Rapisarda has raced numerous horses for many years and was one of the main supporters of former trainer Steven O’Dea, who quit training a few years ago following a highly successful career in Brisbane.

Button was based at Bowen for three years before relocating his stables to Townsville in June.

Since retiring as a premiership-winning jockey in Central Queensland, Button began a successful training career at Rockhampton.

However, itchy feet saw him move from Rockhampton to the Sunshine Coast and then to Canungra in the Gold Coast Hinterland before moving to Bowen and now Townsville.