There are a number of reasons why there’s never been a better opportunity for Northview Hustler to break through for his maiden Redcliffe Gold Cup win.
That is the opinion of trainer Al Barnes who has been busy putting the veteran horse through his paces at the Marburg track this week.
First and foremost are the absence of superstar pacers Leap To Fame and Swayzee, who are shock omissions from the field for Saturday night’s $106,070 Group 2 event at The Triangle.
Both suffered upset defeats in the opening weekend of the 2024 Constellations Carnival, with Swayzee trainer Jason Grimson electing for the reigning Blacks A Fake winner to bypass this Saturday’s race.
With a subsequent 30m handicap allocated to Leap To Fame, connections also elected to withdraw the 2023 Inter Dominion champion.
It’s welcome news to Barnes, who believes the absence of the hometown hero will lead to a golden chance for his ten-year-old runner.
“With no Leap To Fame, we get a chance to be competitive and have a crack at a good one,” Barnes said.
“It opens the race up a lot, and it probably comes down to luck and who steps well and where we are in a run.
“There’s a lot of horses in that race that can win it, so luck in runs is going to pave the way for the winner.”
Northview Hustler is sure to be firmly in the running after enjoying a mini-career resurgence in the last six months.
The Bettor's Delight – Northview Desire gelding burst on to the Queensland racing scene in 2019 with three wins from his first three starts at Albion.
He has gone on to claim 24 more victories and 44 placings across 184 starts at Albion and Redcliffe, including a lone trip to Menangle in 2020.
A win in December 2023 at the Creek was Northview Hustler’s first in almost a year, and since then he has saluted three more times, including an upset victory in an open class event last month where he jumped at $126.
The veteran has also placed eight times in 2024.
“He’s probably racing now as good as he’s ever raced - we’ve had a great year, he’s been a model of consistency,” Barnes said.
“His preparation’s been good, we’ve been racing consistently which is a big help for us and everything’s on the right track.
“He’s got as good a chance as any, he can run top three quite confidently, he loves a stand and he loves the trip.
“He also loves Redcliffe, and he’s got a good record at Redcliffe - he’s run second twice in the Cup so hopefully this year we can go one better.”
Northview Hustler finished a disappointing fourth in the 2023 Cup, and was soundly beaten by Sebs Choice in the 2022 edition.
It was the 2020 running that was the most heartbreaking, with Sole Ambition surging home late to deny leader Hustler a maiden Cup win.
Al’s son Hayden will be in the sulky for Saturday’s 2613m event, with Northview Hustler a $10 shot as of Thursday morning.
With Brendan Barnes having also previously gone around behind Hustler in races, Al joked that he had given his other son “the sack” from jumping on again.
“Brendan never really had any luck with Hustler and we were doing so much for the Inter Dominion together,” Barnes said.
“He was flying in track work and I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t letting down and I was a little bit disappointed through the Inter Dominion series with how he went.
“Adam Richardson jumped on and he improved, and Hayden jumped on and he improved – so Brendan said ‘well you better leave me off and find something else for me to drive!’”
Brendan will instead drive Lucky Mum in the Trotters Cup on Saturday night.
After 12 starts in New Zealand, the exciting three-year-old filly will race for the first time in Australia, before she heads off to pursue an overseas career.
“She’s a nice filly, and is only here on a short trip - she’s here just for the carnival and then she’s heading off to America,” Barnes said.
“It looks a good race for her opening up her account here in Australia.
“She’s got brilliant gate speed, she just trots, she’ll have no trouble on a half-mile track over there and I think she’ll do a really good job.”
Al, who has over 300 career victories to his name, has battled health issues in recent times, including complications from diabetes.
A maiden Redcliffe Gold Cup win would be the perfect tonic to ease the pain for the Fernvale-based horseman.
“It’s been a rough road, probably more so the last four or five months has been a bit tough,” Barnes said.
“I’m a diabetic and have always neglected my diabetes and never really been on medication or looked after myself with it.
“I didn’t have the education for it and it’s caused a bit of trouble with my feet and my hands with the neuropathy.
“It’s something we’ve got live with now but would be great to win a race like Redcliffe and make it all worthwhile.”
Despite his condition – and, like his veteran pacer - there are no signs of slowing down for the 51-year-old.
Along with training, Barnes also works as the track maintenance manager at The Creek.
He has seen close-up the growth of the Constellations Carnival since its inception in 2020.
“It’s a great carnival - I’m sort of lucky to work at Albion Park and get to be hands on and involved in it every year, and it just seems to grow in stature every year,” Barnes said.
“We all love it, it’s just the best time of year, where all the southerners come up and the quality of horse is amazing.
“To think that a horse like Northview Hustler that can be pretty well competitive in any race he goes round and wouldn’t get a start in the Blacks A Fake - it just shows the type of quality that’s coming.”
Saturday night’s card at The Triangle also includes the $125,000 Redcliffe Yearling Sales 2YO Final, along with the Group 3 Redcliffe Derby & Oaks, with $52,000 up for grabs in each race.
