Latest News

By Ray Hickson

Tainui came to Quirindi trainer Geoff O’Brien with hopes of winning a race or two but if he happens to claim the TAB Highway (1600m) at Scone on Saturday his next start could be in a Group 1.

It sounds ambitious but O’Brien points out horses are only three once and that’s why he holds a nomination for the Queensland Derby.

And it’s far from unprecedented as just a year ago Sonofdec won the Midway on the corresponding meeting and went into the Derby as a $21 chance.

The three-year-old has won three of his six starts, plus three seconds, including beating older horses over 2100m at Tamworth a few weeks ago.

“The owners were keen to throw him in, you never know, and if he comes out of this one okay and it looks like he’d get in we’d give it a shot,’’ O’Brien said.

“Who knows how good the horse might be. He might be at his top now, we won’t know for probably 12 months down the track.

“When you only have a small stable you’re very lucky to get a good horse.”

O’Brien rates the best horse he’s had as being stakeswinner Mac’s Tune who won 13 races in the mid-noughties including two Listed races.

Tainui, $15 with TAB on Thursday, had his first two trials with Kris Lees before a decision was made to move him to the country and he'll be the 74-year-old's first Highway runner.

“I think he was one of those colts that was pretty full of himself and the owners decided he was better suited in the bush,’’ O’Brien said.

“They turned him into a gelding and sent him to me to see if I could take some of the nonsense out of him.

“His manners took a little while to shape but he wants to be a quiet horse so that’s the main thing.”

While Tainui won his maiden at start three and backed it up with a Class 1 win at his fourth, a turning point came at Mudgee on April 20 where O’Brien felt he threw a race away.

He elected to back him up four days later with blinkers on and he led all the way to win the Mornington Handicap on Tamworth Cup Day.

O’Brien said Tainui is still very much learning what it’s all about and believes he’ll be fresh enough to be competitive despite coming back 500m in trip.

“He’s been up for a while but I’m pretty soft on him, after he has a run he has a whole week where he doesn’t do a deal,’’ he said.

“Every time the boys get off him they say he’s green as grass. He works on his own at Quirindi so everything he learns he learns on race day.

Tainui wins at Tamworth on April 24

“If he does everything right he won’t be far away from them from the inside barrier. When he won the 2100m he led that one but 1600m is going to be a different kettle of fish.

“He did run the fastest 600m of the day in the 2100m at Tamworth. He stacked them up in the middle of the race and it fell into place. It’ll be interesting to see if he can handle it.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Scone meeting