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Fairytale Continues for Two-Bit Trainer and Female Jockey

Published by charl on March 1, 2010

BATTLING trainer Michael Tubman’s life has been transformed in a couple of months, writes JEFF ZERBST. The old bloke pitched up to the races on 19 December with a filly who cost $15,000 after he’d borrowed the money to buy her. Chance Bye, a 2yo daughter of Snitzel (AUS), landed a massive coup when winning the Inglis Nursery (1000m) that day, and then followed up with a win in the Inglis Classic (1200m).

Money from those restricted races did not count towards a spot in the $3.5 million Golden Slipper, the world’s richest race for 2yos. So Tubman had to win Saturday’s $200,000 Silver Slipper Stakes (Gr. 2) to make the field for the big one.

No worries, mate! Tubman and the filly’s jockey Kathy O’Hara knew the script and they executed it with aplomb at a Rosehill Gardens track favouring front runners.

O’Hara quickly had Chance Bye (15-20) into stride and the filly breezed along in front in the 1100m event. O’Hara niggled at her mount when straightening, and Chance Bye went three lengths clear.
There were a few anxious seconds when it became apparent that second horse Ambers Waltz (11-1) was making up ground. It was a mere flutter of angst because Chance Bye had more than enough in the tank and she got home by 1 ½ lengths.

“She wasn’t fully wound up for this, and that was a very good Golden Slipper trial,” said O’Hara. “It’s good that she’s still a bit soft. She’ll be spot on for the big one.”

Tubman, who only has two horses in training, hasn’t stopped grinning since the filly’s debut win.

“The Slipper, here we come!” he said.

“There’s five weeks to go and I won’t run her again before that. Kathy will ride her in the Slipper. She’s on the horse for life!”

Tubman and the bloke he borrowed the $15,000 from, Jack Knight, have now amassed $470,000 from their filly’s three wins. A win in the Slipper, however, would send their earnings into the stratosphere, and prove that Aussie battlers can become turf kings virtually overnight.
Impressive as Chance Bye was, she can’t yet hold a candle to Australia’s older queen of the turf, Typhoon Tracy.

Peter Moody’s 4yo Red Ransom (US) mare had only five challengers in the $500,000 Futurity Stakes (Gr. 1) over 1600m at Caulfield and they needn’t have bothered turning up.

Racing close to the speed, Typhoon Tracy (Luke Nolen) accelerated smartly in the home stretch and the other five runners were left to fight for the second purse.

Moody’s mare, who’d started odds-on at 6-10, beat home John Hawkes-trained Dao Dao (6-1) by 2 ¾ lengths, with Sniper’s Bullet (11-2) third.

A Sportsbet client had invested $200,000 at 6-10 and he wouldn’t have blinked during the running. This was put-and-take stuff.
Typhoon Tracy’s winning time was only 0.15 sec off the race record and trainer Moody was left to contemplate a raft of options for his superstar mare, who has won nine of 12 starts and more than $1.7 million.

“She’ll go for one of the big races during the Sydney autumn,” said Moody. “It’ll be the Coolmore, the Queen of the Turf or the Ryder.”
Connections must also decide whether to vaccinate the mare and aim at the Champions Mile in Hong Kong on 25 April.

On a day when bookies took a pasting at Caulfield, Victoria Derby runner-up Extra Zero (7-2) provided only minor relief when beating favourite Take the Rap (13-4) into fifth in the Gr. 2 Autumn Classic (1800m).

Glen Boss took riding honours with a double in the last two races - Extra Zero and Berringama (28-10).