Newcastle trainer Steve Hodge is eyeing more success with his Hong Kong connection after breaking the three-and-a-half-year drought of Bourbon Flyer at home on Thursday. Bourbon Flyer ($21), a six-year-old Flying Artie gelding, came from last to win race two, a 900m class 1 handicap, by a length on a heavy surface with Scone-based three-kilogram claiming apprentice Cobi Vitler on board.
It was Bourbon Flyer’s third start for Hodge, who added him to his Newcastle stable during a sale of another horse to Hong Kong. A $50,000 yearling, Bourbon Flyer won on debut for John Thompson in February 2021 on the Kensington track but had fallen short in 12 runs since. Eight of those were in Hong Kong. “A couple of his runs over there weren’t too bad, without probably being up to them, so they decided to send him back,” Hodge said.
“I sold a young one over there I had won a trial with at Newcastle. It went good and I was offered the right money for it, so we sold it. The agent who bought him had brought this horse back, so he asked if I wanted to have a go with him. “His first-up run he was fifth and went good because he hadn’t raced for 12 months. Then the over day over the 1200 he was very disappointing. “Today we had the claim because of the 60 kilos, and the kid rides all right. He’s a nice kid and that’s the first time I’ve had anything to do with him. “He’s ridden a few winners in the country but not many at the provincials yet, so hopefully he can get a kick along and pick up rides down here.”
While hoping to get more wins with Bourbon Flyer, Hodge is also looking for success of a different kind via the horse he sold to Hong Kong – Lika Ryder. It now races under the name My Wish. “It was one we bred ourselves out a mare we had, Set The Tone,” he said. “He was a three-year-old gelding and Mark Newnham has him over there. He’s had the two runs, he was fifth then was beaten a short half-head. He can hopefully win a race over there, because we’ve still got the mare. Hopefully she can breed another one and we can sell it again. There’s good money if you can sell them over there.” Hodge operates the horse pool at Newcastle Racecourse while training a team of four or five.
Trainer Rebecca Dunn and jockey Darryl McLellan were other local winner in the program, taking out the last with Inferencia ($14). The five-year-old mare, a four-time winner bred and owned by Dunn, hit the lead halfway down the straight and hung on for a quarter-length win in the 1600m benchmark 64 handicap. “Bec is a lovely girl and does a great job with the horses,” McLellan said. “We couldn’t wait to get [Inferencia] to a mile, but she had parts where she was just missing runs and had to keep starting again. First time I’ve ridden her at a mile and she’s won, so it’s good.”
HERALD LOCKED IN FOR THE HUNTER
The Newcastle Herald is back for a second year as sponsors for the region’s richest race, the $1 million The Hunter at Newcastle Racecourse on November 16.