Andrew O’Toole’s Friday best at Alice Springs (28/08)

Truckies Day, one of the Red Centre’s feature non-Carnival meetings, takes place at Ladbrokes Pioneer Park today with a five-race card to whet the appetite. Cummins engines has been backing this day since 2005 and it is always well attended, with a good number of people in town to attend the Road Transport Hall of Fame celebrations. With two feature races on the day, it promises to be a fabulous afternoon of racing action.

The $30,000 Cummins Cup (1400m), while not the richest race on the card, should be keenly contested by the five acceptors. Greg Connor has two engaged - Flying Start and Delago Lad – and it is the former that I expect to take a power of beating. A former quality 3yo, Flying Start, now recently turned eight, is racing as well as ever and while he has only won at this trip once from 14 attempts, he has seven placings over the journey and seldom performs poorly.

His latest form reads well too – he was a winner over this distance in 0-70 grade two starts back, and last time out on 8 August was just 1.5 lengths behind Grinzinger Bishop over 1600m, with Mr Jones splitting the pair. Prior to those two efforts, he had been placed second and fourth at his only other two starts this campaign, so he has had a relatively light preparation this time in.

The winner of eight of his 51 starts and placed on a further 21 occasions, the son of Flying Artie and the Hussonet mare Members Joy has been a great money-spinner for his connections, and he gets an ideal opportunity to add further to his impressive stakes tally. Paul Denton knows his way around this course like the back of his hand and from the inside gate, Flying Start should get all favours in the run and prove very hard to beat.

Last season’s leading Red Centre trainer, Kerry Petrick, lines up topweight Bahama Bay and the son of Holler, even with 62.5kg, should prove the hardest for Flying Start and the others to beat.

Although he failed to reach any great heights during a recent trip to the Top End for the Darwin Cup Carnival, his form here prior to going north was first-class, with three wins in succession during the Alice Springs Cup Carnival through April and early May. In fact, since he entered the Petrick stable in the middle of 2025, he has had 17 starts for five wins, four seconds, a third and two fourths, so he has been nothing if not a consistent performer.

Stan Tsaikos, who has teamed up with Petrick recently for wins in such notable events as the Alice Springs Cup and the Chief Minister’s Cup in Darwin, will be having his first ride on the bay gelding today and with a double at Katherine a fortnight ago, he is in red hot form and will give his mount every chance from barrier two.

Grinzinger Lass, representing the Ray and Jaidyn Viney stable, is another with an undeniable chance. The 5yo daughter of Shalaa was a winner here three starts back over this distance, and has since finished third to Flying Start and fourth to Grinzinger Bishop, on both occasions beaten less than two lengths. She is the winner of six races, two of them over this trip, and Jess Philpot knows her very well and will again have the steer.

Delago Lad has been a little below his best lately but has plenty of ability and could surprise here, while Iz Shaft is a 26-start maiden and a win would come as a major surprise.

The $45,000 Ladbrokes Red Centre Winter Series Final (1200m) is the culmination of a series of eight heats run since the middle of May, and has attracted a competitive field of eight runners.

Brat, the leading points scorer in the series, has been allotted topweight of 60.5kg and will be one of the hardest to beat, but he will receive plenty of opposition from Connor’s River Frost and Scissor Me Timbers, while Stella Bystarlight, from the Viney yard, is another with definite claims, as is stablemate Tango Stepz, a last-start winner on 8 August.

Excuses Excuses, trained by James Carroll, is an 11yo now but will have the services of the Top End’s leading rider Jarrod Todd, who travels to the Red Centre for the fixture. Only The Best, who ran fourth at Katherine when last produced a fortnight ago, and consistent Splish Splash complete the field, and a grand contest seems assured.

The weather in the Red Centre this week has been a mixture of rain earlier in the week and fine weather since. The official forecast for today reads: Sunny. Light winds becoming east to southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h in the morning then becoming light in the evening. The temperature is forecast to 23 degrees during the day, and it will be just 7 degrees overnight. There is no chance of any rain.

The first race on the five-race card gets underway at 2.00pm (NT time), which is 2.30pm on the eastern seaboard, while the last is timed to go at 4.20pm (NT time), or 4.50pm in New South Wales and Victoria.

BEST BETS

R3 # 2 REVOLUTION RISING
Knocking on the door in similar company lately and gets another ideal opportunity to break through for an overdue success. Beaten narrowly here on 8 August behind Tango Stepz and has not been further back than fourth in his last six starts. Does not win out of turn but seldom goes a poor race. Paul Denton takes the mount for Greg Connor and from an ideal barrier of three, should give his supporters plenty to cheer about.

R4 # 2 THE BIG FREEZE
Carrol Hunter’s 7yo is racing as well if not better than ever just lately and was a fighting second to Forever A Diamond over this trip three weeks ago. Has an enviable record over this 1400m trip of 12 starts for four wins, two second and three thirds, and with NSW rider Billy Cray in the saddle, he promises to again give a good account of himself. Can overcome the outside draw of six.

R5 # 3 FLYING START
Getting on in years but still racing in great heart. The winner of quarter of a million in stakes is a versatile performer for the Greg Connor stable, and won at this trip of 1400m two starts back, before following that up with a good third over 1600m on 8 August. Drawn the ace so should get a lovely run in transit, and last season’s leading jockey Paul Denton continues his association with the son of Flying Artie. Tough to hold out.

SELECTIONS

RACE 1 – 2, 1, 3, 5
RACE 2 – 2, 4, 1, 6
RACE 3 – 2, 3, 4, 6
RACE 4 – 2, 1, 4, 3
RACE 5 – 3, 1, 4, 2

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