FAB FOUR: Steve Turnbull is hoping to win a fourth consecutive Banjo Paterson Cup tomorrow. Photo: CHRIS SEABROOK
BATHURST trainer Steve Turnbull will be aiming for a fourth-straight win in the $12,000 Banjo Paterson feature at Orange tomorrow.
Turnbull has four entries in this year’s field - Runaway Red, Im Blue Double Dee, My Dusky Sound and Slick Bromac - and given his ties to the venue he would be delighted to see one of his charges secure win number four on the trot.
A win for Runaway Red would make it two from three years for the veteran, who is approaching $300,000 in career earnings.
“It’s been a good race to my stable in the past and I think that I have won it for the last three years, so I am hoping I can keep that roll going this weekend,” Turnbull said.
“Orange is a pretty special place for the family; it is where I drove my first winner 40 years ago and it is also where my daughter Amanda drove her first winner about seven years ago, so it is a club and track that we like to support when they host a meeting.”
Turnbull enjoys racing at Orange and believes it suits his training style.
“It isn’t a track that suits all horses, but a lot of mine handle it very well. The racing is very different from the big track racing at Menangle and a lot of horses that have been racing well in town arrive at Orange and struggle to get around,” he explained.
“It’s not just the track that makes Orange an inviting place to go, the club also does a great job encouraging the locals to come out and have a look at the racing and there is always a great picnic atmosphere at the meetings, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they got a really good crowd out there this weekend, especially with Shannon Noll putting on a concert.”
Turnbull trained the first two horses past the post in the Banjo Paterson in 2012 when Royal Surprise beat Avonnova.
Runaway Red won the feature in 2011 and Dancing Goddess was victorious for the stable in 2010.
“I think I won two races on the card last year and the overall meeting looks very strong again this year,” Turnbull said.
Just by being on course at Orange tomorrow, one lucky patron will go into the draw to win a brand new Toyota Yaris to be announced at the Harness Racing NSW Awards in October.
Tomorrow’s meeting at Highlands Paceway will feature nine races, with the first starting at 12pm.