FRIDAY: July 8, 2022: DEBUTANTE Tintookie proved the “real thing” to make a winning debut as Brad Widdup’s best season continued with a Goulburn double today.
Tintookie ($7.50) landed the 2YO Maiden Handicap (1000m) and $1.80 favorite Good Omens the Benchmark 64 Handicap (1600m) at the meeting transferred from Kembla Grange to take the leading Hawkesbury trainer’s tally so far this season to 59.
Cleverly named Tintookie, a Winning Rupert filly from Lady Marionette (a daughter of dual winner Glove Puppet), was a $30,000 purchase for Brad at last year’s Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association yearling sale.
“She was eligible for the $200,000 Inglis 2YO Challenge (1100m) at the Scone carnival in May, and that’s the race I had tried to get her ready for,” Brad said en route home this evening.
“I thought she had a better chance than the stablemate River Danzka (who was narrowly beaten) but things kept going wrong.
“She wouldn’t eat and I ended up giving her a break.
“Tintookie was ready to race a couple of times, but kept drawing wide gates.
“I couldn’t hold her back any longer and she did a good job to win on debut.
“The filly goes well and, provided she takes no harm from today’s assignment, I will look for another suitable race as she is BOBS eligible.”
Brad syndicated Tintookie amongst a group which includes a number of schoolmates and former Godolphin employees (he worked for the global racing giant in Sydney for many years before taking up training in 2017).
Ridden by 3kg claimer Jackson Searle, Tintookie sustained a determined burst wide on the track to comfortably defeat Deep Fury ($10) and $2.90 favorite Major Beel.
Whereas Tintookie was a cheap and now valuable buy, Brad’s second winner Good Omens fetched three times as much when sold in Melbourne in 2019 as a yearling.
The four-year-old daughter of So You Think was having only her third start for her new trainer and notched her second victory.
Good Omens had broken through in April last year in a 1500m Maiden against her own sex at Kembla Grange when in the Chris Waller stable.
She needed all of five-timer Jason Collett’s experience to get home narrowly from Goulburn local King Of Spades ($8.50), who ironically was partnered by Searle.
It was only in the last few strides that Good Omens got the better of the runner-up, giving Collett the last five races on the program.
“Luckily we had Jason on board,” Brad said. “Good Omens half blundered on the turn and I thought we were in trouble.
“But Jason got her out to the best part of the track, and it was good to see her get another win for her owners.”