Celebration: Father / Son combination Gary Hall Snr & Jnr embrace following their victory in the Gr.1 $100,000 TattsBet Blacks A Fake at Albion Park
Champion pacer Im Themightyquinn finished the Brisbane winter carnival the same way he started it.
The Gary Hall trained nine-year-old once again captivated a massive crowd at Albion Park with a thrilling come from behind victory in the Gr.1 $100,000 TattsBet Blacks A Fake defeating tough local pacer Avonnova and Mach Beauty.
Handled by regular reinsman Gary Hall Jnr, Im Themightyquinn sat mid-field in the moving line before sustaining a long sprint from the 900m marker while Mach Beauty led his stablemate Suave Stuey Lombo.
With Mach Beauty charging down the back straight on the final occasion in a 26.5 second split, Im Themightyquinn was left working hard while Avonnova sat patiently in the trail.
In the straight, Im Themightyquinn dug deep to fight his way past Avonnova to score by a half neck margin with Mach Beauty a further 3m away in third.
The winning milerate was 1;56.1 – just outside of the track record of 1;55.9 held by Mr Feelgood.
Winning trainer Gary Hall was overcome with emotion following the gutsy victory.
“This is unbelievable; I thought he was all done at the top of the straight after such a strong back straight split but he showed why he is a champion and that was an effort of a champion. I’m so pleased for the horse and I’m thrilled with the way he’s been admired by the Queensland people.” Hall said.
Im Themightyquinn won both open class features during the carnival, the Gr.2 $60,000 Garrards Sunshine Sprint in track record time of 1;50.5 plus tonight’s Gr.1 $100,000 TattsBet Blacks A Fake.
The Gr.1 $100,000 SKY Racing Queensland Derby was dominated by race favourite and star Sydney colt Bling It On who defeated Alleluia and Yayas Hot Spot.
Driven aggressively by Luke McCarthy, Bling It On found the lead at the 2000m point and dictated terms in front thereafter before striding clear to win by 9.5m in a time of 1;57.2 for the 2680m event.
The American Ideal colt remains unbeaten in Queensland winning all nine starts to date.
Bling It On now heads to Victoria for the Australasian Breeders Crown series next month.
The Gr.2 $80,000 Kevin & Kay Seymour QBRED Triad 2yo Finals were thrilling contests.
Jack Malone scored a nose victory over a gallant A Good Chance with Constantlysideways finishing third after leading.
Trained and driven by Peter Greig, Jack Malone rated 1;55.9 for the 1660m event.
The Cammibest gelding is raced by Patrice Madden.
In the fillies final, the Shannon Price trained stablemates Bettorthanspecial edged out Bettor Promise by a short head margin in a time of 1;58.5.
Brad Cowen took the winning drive.
Bred and raced by Tony and Katy Price, both fillies are by super sire Bettors Delight.
The Gr.3 $45,000 Gurney Group of Companies 4yo Championship was taken out by former Kiwi pacer Five Card Draw who scored via the sprintlane to beat Majestic Major and Chevals Clivesdale in a driving finish.
Five Card Draw rated 1;55.8 for the 2138m event.
Trained and driven by Darrel Graham, Five Card Draw has now won seven races at Albion Park since being purchased by Dean Shannon earlier this year.
Champion pacer Blacks A Fake was another star attraction trackside tonight parading in front of the massive crowd on a number of occasions which was met by a great response.
Harness fans Rob Johnston from Cedar Creek and Alan Lendrum from Toowoomba shared in the experience of a lifetime after being drawn as the lucky winners for the owners of Im Themightyquinn and Bling It On for the night.
They took 10% ownership for the night with full owner’s privileges.
Well done!
