Todd Austin wins back-to-back Matilda Highway Series’
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Gaffe bolts home in the last race of the series brandishing the familiar Austin stable blue with silver star (North West Star photo)
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Dominant central west trainer Todd Austin has backed up last year’s efforts to claim the Matilda Highway Series’ top trainer for 2009.
Based at Barcaldine, Austin consistently added to his points tally at each of the series’ 10 race meetings.
Austin finished with an impressive 60.5 points, some 33.5 points clear of his nearest rival Shane Iverson to pickup the $3000 top trainer bonus in the series.
In ominous signs for trainers in the region he looks to be enjoying the success of his last few years, and won’t be walking away from racing in a hurry.
“I’m very pleased,” said Austin. “I was lucky enough to have the right horses for the right races this year, it just fell into place.
“At the end of the day I don’t know what I’d do if I wasn’t doing this.”
With Austin’s performance in the Matilda Highway Series, it would come of no surprise that he was in charge of the winning horse in the series, Gaffe (G4 Desert Prince-Versatile).
Austin was full of praise for his champion four-year-old, who from five races collected two wins at Cunnamulla and McKinlay, one dead heat win at Charleville, and a third place to award his owners with a $5000 bonus from the series.
“You would nearly say he was unlucky not to finish a little bit closer in the other two (races) as well,” he said.
“He’s really racing well. I’ve got a few races in mind for him, but the blokes that own him really enjoy Birdsville, so that would be his main goal at this stage.”
Clayton Schumacher took out top jockey for the Matilda Highway Series getting home three winners, one of which was Austin’s Gaffe at Cunnamulla.
For Schumacher’s efforts he received a $2000 bonus.
Austin also spoke highly of the relationship between himself and the series’ top hoop, as the duo has often teamed-up for success in recent years.
“He’s been really good to me. I haven’t got a stable rider, and he’s stuck by me and really helped and he’s got a bit of success out of it thank god,” he said.
There is no doubt Schumacher would be just as grateful to the trainer who is taking central west racing by storm.
QUEENSLAND Racing web news: Ross Dowd – June 30
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