After shock exit from Alice Springs, trainer Lisa Whittle returns
After relocating to South Australia earlier this year, highly talented trainer Lisa Whittle has returned to Alice Springs.
Whittle, who arrived in the Red Centre in the late 1990s, has won countless Alice Springs and Provincial training premierships, as well as a host of feature races in Alice Springs and Darwin.
Her departure in February shocked the NT racing landscape.
Undoubtedly skilled in her profession with over 600 career wins, Whittle will have two starters on deck at the Pioneer Park meeting on Sunday.
Liberty Blue (Sonja Wiseman), an eight-year-old gelding, will feature in an open 1200m handicap and Miss Miduki (Alice Lindsay), a five-year-old mare, lines up over 1200m (0-58).
Alice Springs Turf Club general manager Mark Summers confirmed that Whittle was back in Central Australia adding that the local racing industry very much welcomed her return.
Summers added that it shouldn’t take Whittle long to build up her stable and once again leave her mark in the Alice.
Despite being absent for just over four months she still sits in second place behind Dick Leech (27) in the trainer’s premiership with 15 wins.
She in fact won the Alice Springs and Provincial trainer’s premiership last season.
Whittle had runners at Pioneer Park on February 25 before leaving for SA where she saddled up horses at Mount Gambier and Strathalbyn, although Harpuna raced under Whittle’s name in Alice Springs on two occasions in March and April.
Liberty Blue has a decent record in the Red Centre and it might well be a successful return for Whittle, while Miss Miduki will be making her NT debut.
In 20 starts in the Alice, Liberty Blue has been victorious on six occasions and has finished among the placegetters nine times – he was a last start fifth behind Supreme Attraction over 1100m (BM76) last Sunday for local trainer Rene Taylor.
The son of Statue Of Liberty celebrated his last win on June 4 when he saluted over 1000m (0-70) for Whittle’s brother Scott at Pioneer Park.
He was far from disgraced last weekend and is definitely a chance on Sunday, but Supreme Times, Flying Start, Valley Prince and Brat will keep him honest.
Miss Miduki, who raced for the Gary and Nichole Searle and Brianna Callanan stable at Gawler, last raced on June 21 where she finished 10th on a Heavy 9 over 1200m (Class 1) at Gawler.
The daughter of Bel Esprit has one win from 13 starts, including four minor placings, with that victory occurring at Morphettville in an 1100m maiden in December 2021.
Racing on dirt for the first time will either make or break Miss Miduki, but having Lisa Whittle in your corner helps, although matching Threetimeslucky, Toffiato, Sadler’s Song, Lisa and Speed Wheel won’t be easy.
Meanwhile, Summers was pleased to receive 40 acceptors for Sunday’s meeting considering the fact that the Darwin Cup Carnival is in full swing.
The ASTC elected to switch the July 2 meeting to July 9 when the weather forecast predicted that Alice Springs was set for a heavy downpour.
Apart from the Cup Carnival, which normally starts in April and ends on the first Monday in May, they rarely race on back to back weekends in Alice Springs these days and Summers was chuffed that local trainers have supported the five-race meeting.
Broad Outlook, Barocco Bar, Norse Mythology, Miss McCregor and Mi Mijo should be fighting it out when they square off over 1600m (0-64).
Boy Big, Centre Circle, Kenneth, Family Ties, Lamoree and Fair Go are genuine prospects over 1100m (BM54), while Eight On The Dot, Flying Yishu, Li’lmissprancealot and Danny Whizzbang had early support in the 1100m maiden.
The next meeting at Alice Springs on July 30 will be the last for the 2022/23 season and with 10 races remaining Leech will seal the trainer’s premiership, while Darwin-based Sonja Wiseman (26) is set to seal her first jockey’s premiership as she is five wins clear of Jarrod Todd and apprentice Dakota-Lee Gillett.