Tumbler Ridge and Kylease to show their mettle at Ipswich

Training partners Steve O’Dea and Matt Hoysted will take a two-pronged attack to Ipswich on Saturday but have small distance queries on both their runners – for different reasons.

Impressive colt Tumbler Ridge lines up in the TL Cooney 3YO (1350m) boasting wins in two of his last three starts and a fourth behind Private Eye in the Group 2 Queensland Guineas, which has since proved to be a hot form race.

Hoysted has no doubt the colt can take out the $105,000 race at Ipswich but admits one small fly in the ointment could be that he is only stepping up 50m from his win in the $200,000 Gold Jewel at Doomben.

“He sprinted really well fresh off a break the other day, but the only marginal little query might be that he goes up only 50m on Saturday and he is a horse that probably wants the mile,” Hoysted said.

“But we have left him a touch on the fresh side to counteract that and he has drawn a good barrier.

“The horse couldn’t be going any better, it’s not a race with a huge amount of depth.

“We have always had a really good opinion of him, he probably just had a busy sort of two-year-old year.

“He has really come back a much better horse.”

Stephanie Thornton will ride Kylease at Ipswich for Steve O’Dea and Matt Hoysted. Picture: Nigel HallettSource:News Corp Australia

Tumbler Ridge is one of the fancied picks, at $4.20, while sprinter Kylease will race in the Listed Gai Waterhouse Classic (1200m) as a $19 chance after drawing wide in barrier 16.

While Tumbler Ridge would ideally like his race over a bit further distance, Kylease could be out of petrol tickets at the end of 1200m.

But Hoysted says Kylease, a speed machine, has learned to settle better in the mid section of her races.

He is hoping jockey Stephanie Thornton can get her to the front and racing with gusto without having to use too much early energy.

“We have saved her to target this race, we thought the tighter track at Ipswich would work with her,” Hoysted said.

“She is coming back and relaxing better mid-race now and so we are confident enough with the 1200(m).

“We are hoping she will be able to dictate in front and try to pinch a couple of cheap sectionals and still be able to show a good kick.

“If she could find a length off the bend, it might be enough to hold them off.

“It’s obviously a bit tricky for her with the wide gate, it’s just how much petrol will she have to burn early getting across?

“She will definitely give them something to chase, but it will be heart in your mouth stuff in the last 100(m).”

Originally published asDistance query for O’Dea-Hoysted pair at Ipswich

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