Queanbeyan Trainer Joe Cleary Hopes for Kosciuszko Slot with King Gutho’s Canterbury Victory
Queanbeyan-based trainer Joe Cleary is eyeing a spot in the lucrative $2 million Kosciuszko feature race after his horse King Gutho secured a breakthrough metropolitan win at Canterbury Park on Wednesday.
Cleary enlisted the services of Sydney’s reigning premier jockey James McDonald to partner the six-year-old gelding in the Vale George Altomonte Handicap (1100m), and the high-profile combination did not disappoint, with King Gutho powering home to a 1-3/4 length victory.
“I spoke to him on WhatsApp the other day and I said, ‘you’re having a bit of a rough twelve months Jimmy, I’d better come and resurrect your career’,” Cleary joked, alluding to McDonald’s recent form slump.
Starting at $4.40, King Gutho settled at the rear of the field for McDonald but quickly found galloping room at the top of the straight, racing down the outside to overpower the evergreen campaigner Lancaster Bomber ($5.50).
“I said after Grafton, this is the perfect race for him,” Cleary said. “We’ve got to try to put our hand up for a Kosciuszko spot, so we’ve ticked the right boxes today.”
McDonald, who booted home three of the first four winners on the midweek program, was pleased with King Gutho’s performance, describing it as “solid” with the horse “ripping home really well”.
Earlier on the card, the Ciaron Maher-trained Axius ($3.30) made it two wins from three starts, the promising three-year-old delivering an emphatic all-the-way victory in the Victor Ludorum @ Darley Handicap (1200m) under the guidance of jockey Tim Clark.
Clark believes Axius’ winning effort from an outside draw is just the beginning, stating that the stable is “just scratching the surface” with the young prospect.
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