Will Bateup land a giant win in Provincial Championships heat?
KEMBLA Grange conditioner Theresa Bateup rates her consistent mare Giant’s Daughter a big chance of featuring in Wednesday’s Provincial Championships qualifier at Gosford (1200m).
The four-year-old mare will be first up from a spell in the $150,000 feature, with the first three across the line qualifying for the $400,000 grand final at Randwick on April 8.
Despite having not faced the starter since December 14, Bateup says her charge is in prime order.
“I am quite happy with her – she has done everything right,” Bateup told Horse Betting.
“We have only had her for her last preparation – so she has only had the five starts for three wins and two seconds – and she just keeps improving.
“After her last start second at Warwick Farm she showed that she is up to the grade so we decided to give her a little let up with this race in mind for her first-up.
“She will improve off the run this week, but at the same time she is forward enough to run a very cheeky race.
“It is a very tough race, basically ever runner has got good form and legitimate claims so we will need a bit of luck in running, but I do think she has the ability to be competitive with them.”
A winner of three of her 15 starts with four minor placings, Giant’s Daughter will start from barrier two on Wednesday, carrying just 54-kilograms over the six-furlong trip.
“She is a big mare so weight doesn’t overly concern her, but it is nice to get into these races with nothing on your back.
“On top of that she has drawn a nice barrier – she has got reasonable gate speed so from the inside barrier I expect her to be up near the pace early.
“She is such a lovely mare and she is very honest – I expect her to go well.”
Bateup has been within the thoroughbred racing industry for more than a decade, starting out small by buying an out of form eight-year-old named Casiraghi for just $250.
“Cas” went on to win races for Bateup until he was 11-years-old and is now the stable’s lead pony.
“I always followed racing as my mum worked at the TAB when I was younger so I used to spend Saturday afternoons watching and listening to the races,” Bateup explained.
“I grew up in Cootamundra so I did a little bit of work when I was younger for a trainer down there on school holidays.
“When I moved to Wollongong to go to Uni I had been showing horses for a couple of years and ended up living at Kembla Grange.
“From there I started riding track work and strapping at the races – after a while I decided I liked the race horses more than show horses so I took out my licence and bought a tried horse.
“For the first few years I was only playing around with a couple of my own because I was working full time as well, but over the years it gradually built up to where it is now.
“For the past while we have had around the 16-20 mark in work, but we are currently expanding our setup and taking on an additional 14 boxes.”
With the business growing by the day, Bateup says it would be a massive thrill to qualify for the lucrative final at Randwick.
“If we happened to qualify for the final that would be a feat in itself because the heats are very competitive and there are a lot of people aiming their horses at these races,” she said.
“A win in the series would be unreal – it’s the sort of thing you dream about – and what makes it even better is we are going into the series with a horse which has the ability and is capable of doing it – we just need a few little things to go our way.”
The Gosford Provincial Championships qualifier is race seven on the card this Wednesday and is set to jump at 5.05pm.
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