Massingham Stable Powering up for Premiership Push

Townsville winners have been scarce so far this season for premier trainer Stephen Massingham but that could all be about to change.

The Cairns conditioner, who is the principal trainer for the north’s biggest owner Tom Hedley, is tipping that winners are about to roll, starting at Cluden Park on Friday.

Massingham clinched his first Townsville trainers’ premiership last season and started the current racing year with victory in the North’s premier sprint the Cleveland Bay Hcp with Speed Legend in August.

But with a stripped back team for the summer season, wins at Cluden have been uncharacteristically rare.

With just four wins from 49 starters, he sits on equal sixth on the premiership table, five behind arch rival Georgie Holt who he pipped in last year’s title race on the very last day of the season.

Massingham is going into Friday’s meeting with at least two strong winning chances and with a number of stable stars coming back into work over the next month, the stable will soon be at full strength.

He rates the lightly raced Niven (Ladbrokes Mdn Plate (1200m) and Tycoon Beau (WRC Open Hcp 1400m) the best of his five runners.

“I’d like to think we’ve got some good chances this week. Niven will be suited with the step up to 1200m and Tycoon Beau in the open was a great run last start behind Cherry Rose,” Massingham said.

“He’s been screaming out for 1400m and he’s ready to run a big race.

“It has been a bit light on for us so far this season, but jeez we’ve run some seconds lately.

“Last meeting was a good day but it could have been a super day. We had a winner at big odds in Singular, which I own myself, but we ran four seconds.”

Massingham says the stable has been relying on a weaker summer team through the hotter months.

But a list of the team’s big guns, including Speed Legend, are gradually returning to the stables following an off-season spell.

“After the carnivals we turned the good ones out and brought back the second stringers and some of them are pretty much on their last preparation. They’ve been going ok but just struggling to win a race,” Massingham said.

“We cut right back to 11 horses at one stage, and we’re still about 16 now but in the next month or so it’ll ramp up to full bore.

“In the last four months or so we give ourselves some hope (premiership) because we’ve got some nice horses in the paddock yet to come in.

“Obviously Speed Legend, but also Smart Legend, Turbeau, Eclipsion, Lean Eagle, Almighty Jab, Lady Damus and a few more are all carnival horses.”

Speed Legend, the stable’s remarkable veteran, heads the stable’s ambitions again despite the fact he is now a rising 10 year-old.

The brilliant galloper has been sparingly raced in a career that has taken him from Sydney, to Hong Kong where he didn’t race, back to Syndey and on to North Queensland.

Owned by the Hedley operation, Speed Legend won eight from 12 starts for Roy Chillemi and four of his five starts for Massingham, including the Cleveland Bay Hcp and the Cairns Newmarket in 2025.

Massingham said the Star Witness gelding would head to Brisbane at the start of his current preparation and may even chase a slot in the Archer in Rockhampton.

“He’s come back looking great. He’s very lightly raced for a nine-year-old,” Massingham said,.

“We’ll take it steady with him and have him ready to go in April. The plan at this stage is to go to Brisbane and have a couple of starts and then Tom may chase a slot in the Archer if he’s going well enough.

“After that we’ll look at coming back for the Cleveland Bay and the Newmarket at home.”

But Massingham’s immediate focus is on Friday’s fixture at Cluden.

“I’d like to think Niven can nearly win and I like Tycoon Beau. But the other three – Here’s Mason (Mdn Plte), Super Twenty Three (Mitavite C3 Hcp) and King’s Halo WRC Open Hcp) should all be competitive.”

Friday’s nine-event card kicks off at 11.20am with the last race at 4.15pm.