Captain Ritchie. Photo by Club Menangle
Paul Fitzpatrick knows what it takes to win feature races, in particular those for the juveniles.
The Cawdor horseman has for a long time been able to produce leading contenders for races like the Breeders Challenge Series, going back to the days when they were known as the New South Wales Sire Stakes.
The now veteran in the sport, Fitzpatrick has been preparing winners for five decades, in fact that number has grown to an impressive 2725, 30 of those at Group 1 level.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Fitzpatrick has set his sights on adding another feature win to his tally as he prepares for the 2023 Breeders Challenge with two runners in the first round of heats at Newcastle this evening.
Highly talented three-year-old Captain Ritchie leads the charge towards Fitzpatrick’s bid while up and coming gelding Cabana will take his place in two-year-old colts and geldings division.
“Both are certainly very nice young horses with plenty of upside,” said Fitzpatrick.
“Captain Ritchie won the APG Final last season and has been more than competitive in the big races throughout his career, winning seven races along the way.”
“Cabana has performed well in his runs since making his debut back in April, winning two from four and placing in the others.”
“It would be great if both horses were able to qualify tonight for the next round.”
“No race is easy when you get to this level so we will be taking nothing for granted and our blokes will need their share of luck in running.”
“But they are both in good order and I feel confident that they can perform well tonight.”
The last four races on tonight’s Newcastle program are Breeders Challenge heats with horses travelling from as far north as Queensland hoping to progress on to the next round.
Two of the Sunshine state’s leading trainers Grant Dixon and Chantel Turpin have runners engaged, while there is a mix of youngsters from the New England, Sydney and Hunter Valley regions all vying for a spot in the semi-finals.
Further south at Wagga, another four heats of the Breeders Challenge will be contested, and again they have drawn horses travelling from afar, including Victoria.
The Eureka winning trainer, Emma Stewart has runners in each of the heats and as always, her team will take a power of beating.
