Intheway provides trainer his biggest win
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Intheway held off a strong challenge by Fat Quarters to win at Doomben (Noel Pascoe photos) |
Former A-Grade footballer, dairy farmer and now hobby trainer Gary Popp missed his biggest day at the track recently. But he wasn’t far from the TV to catch his horse Intheway win the $50,000 Hastie Handicap 2150m at City Pacific Doomben.
The city win was the biggest career victory for both trainer and horse.
Popp’s regular jockey Bret Calkin sat Intheway (G5 Intergaze-Getting Ahead) a couple of lengths off the early leader Cold Start (Rachel Mason) for most of the 2150m journey. Calkin was challenged by Fat Quarters (Trinity Bannon) in the final few hundred metres but Intheway was too strong and crossed the line a neck in front. Cold Start finished third a further five lengths behind.
“He’s a horse that likes to be near the front, he seems to race better that way,” Popp said.
“He hasn’t got a sprint so he sort of stays all day and that’s how we rode him the other day. He also likes a bit of give in the ground.
“Bret rides for me all the time if I go to places like Bell or anywhere he always comes and rides my horses. I stick to the same jockey because he seems to know the horse.”
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Winning jockey…Bret Calkin
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ntheway ran a good fourth at his prior start, also at Doomben, finishing only a length behind the winner Fat Quarters.
“I thought he was unlucky last week. I thought he could have won. He drew second from the outside and I think with a better barrier he might have won.”
Popp manages a cattle and grain property in Warwick and part-owns and trains Intheway who he bought mid last year.
“He raced in the New South Wales provincials. He was in the Sydney sales and I rang up before the sales and bought him. I thought he had good form,” he said.
Popp’s wife Leesa also part-owns Intheway along with a few Warwick locals.
“It’s a bunch of farmers from down the road here in Warwick and we got them into racing. It is their first horse and they’ve been quite lucky,” Popp said.
“It’s good for racing and owners to get people from the country to own horses that can win in town. It is really good.”
Popp has been training for about four years after working on his mother-in-law’s dairy farm for 12 years. He only recently retired from playing A-Grade football, something he did for 10 years.
The hobby trainer bought his first racehorse from his brother Thomas who is also a trainer based in Goondiwindi and says “it has just gone on from there”.
QUEENSLAND Racing web news: Claire Power – February 11
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