Blinkers Does the Trick for Peter and the Dude

Wulguru trainer Peter Cullen trumped his opposition when he used blinkers for the first time to bring the best out of promising three-year-old Carohvic at Cluden Park on Sunday.

Ridden aggressively by apprentice Tahlia Fenlon, Carohvic ploughed through the heavy conditions to claim a welcome win for Cullen in the Mitavite QTIS 3YO Hcp (1000m).

But the plan had a twist just prior to the race when Cullen made a late request to stewards to discard the blinkers because of the worsening wet conditions, but was denied.

Cullen needn’t have worried. Carohvic jumped smartly for Fenlon and cruised clear in the straight before gripping on late from the favourite Burlington Arcade.

“His form has been good but he’s never had a lot of luck with it,” Cullen said.

“The blinkers were the key thing but I was a bit worried with the wet track.

“Tahlia went straight to the front which is what I’ve been trying to do with him for a long time.

“He’s a front runner. He loves to be up there. With the wet there’s no better time to do it.

“He’s shown ability from day dot. Graham Kliese rode him quite a bit and always called him the dude. He’s got a bit of attitude.

“It’s been a long while since I’ve had a winner but I’ve always had a good opinion of this horse.

“There’s a race in a fortnight for him and he’ll probably go to the paddock after that. We’ll get him ready for the carnival later on.

“If we can fix the attitude we’ll have a really nice horse.

“Tahlia was spot on with him today. I couldn’t have asked for a better ride.”

Carohvic has now won twice and been placed on three occasions in 10 starts.

Both of his wins have been over the 1000m at Cluden.

Fellow Wulguru trainer Bill Kenning landed a winning double with Roweiner’s Dance and Impressionism, who both led throughout for apprentice Gabby Semmens.

The apprentice made it a treble with a win on the Tracey Simmons-trained  maidener Parppy ‘N’ Me to claim riding honors for the day.

Roweiner’s Dance revelled in the heavy 8 track conditions to record his 13th victory over the Cluden 1000m.

He beat major carnival contender Demon Award and Lightning winner Russian Mint with former Victorian galloper It’sourtime flashing home under 67kg for fourth.

“I’ll just keep looking for suitable short races for him but the weights are catching up to him,” Kenning said.

“He won today with 59.5kg with the claim but if it hadn’t been for It’sourtime he would have had more.

“I’ll keep him ticking over and hopefully get him out to 1300m for the Cleveland Bay Hcp.

“He was great again today. Gabby’s now won six from six on him so she’s done a terrific  job and she produced a very good front running ride on Impressionism as well.”

Million dollar earner It’sourtime, bought for $3500 in an on-line auction, thrilled his connections with his strong run behind Roweiner’s Dance.

He will now head to Toowoomba for the King Of The Mountain Quality on March 27.

His trainer Toni Schofield landed a win with Novaya, who dead-heated with Jo Hassett’s Nottington Prince, and was runner-up with More Trouble behind the ultra-consistent Prince Akeem, trained by Graham Hughes.

Mackay trainer Tracey Simmons also had a big day winning with Parppy ‘N’ Me and roughie Spirit Of Mac.