BATHURST product Gemma Hewitt is following in the footsteps of her father Bernie, making a name for herself in the training game with talented gelding Fliteoftheconcords.
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Hewitt moved to Cobbitty last year to be with her partner, Mat Rue, who has been an important part of Luke and Belinda McCarthy’s stable.
When she got there, Hewitt decided to get her training licence and completed that six months ago.
She was immediately given the opportunity to train the Falcon Seelster x Truely Jaccka progeny by the horses’ owner, Paul Kahlefeldt.
Impressively it took just six weeks for Hewitt to get her first win, at Menangle Park, and two more have followed.
And now tonight Fliteoftheconcords will line up in the $5500 Robert Ross Pace at the Bathurst Paceway, Hewitt’s first start on home soil.
Rue will take the drive, but Hewitt won’t be there to watch because she is in Queensland helping her father with a team of horses.
“It’s really exciting to have him at Bathurst. We have been talking about taking him to Bathurst for a while, but unfortunately I can’t be there to see him,” Hewitt said.
“His form has been good. He has won three out of 12 starts and he’s been a nice little horse. Paul Kahlefeldt asked Matt and I if we would like to train a horse and we jumped at it. We are very thankful to Paul for giving us the opportunity.”
The four-year-old had two starts on the Gold Coast under Hewitt’s control before returning to NSW, where the gelding really began to hit his straps.
Hewitt said the time was right for Fliteoftheconcords to make the trip over the Blue Mountains because Bathurst was offering a suitable race over 2130 metres, while most in Sydney were shorter.
He will be part of an eight-horse field, starting from out wide on the front row, but has a good chance.
“It’s a longer race so starting out wide doesn’t matter too much. He would have been starting out wide at Penrith too, but that was a shorter race. He’s got an extra lap here,” Hewitt said.
“It’s a tough little field so it’s not going to be easy, but he’s going well.”
Rue is another Bathurst product, having started his career in Bathurst before taking the opportunity to drive for the McCarthys.
Earlier this year he and Hewitt were given the opportunity to run the Brisbane stable, where they racked up 45 wins in five months.
He also won the Miracle Mile with Baby Bling in May.
Rue is now looking to go out on his own and the pair are considering returning to Bathurst as their base.
“We will probably go out on our own at the end of the year. Mat has been with Luke for a while now and they have been very good, but how he would like to test himself,” Hewitt said.
