Theresa Bateup enjoyed her maiden trip to Narrandera on Sunday, with Victory At Omaha taking out the 1600m Open Handicap.
Ridden a treat by two-kilogram-claiming apprentice Olivia Chambers, the Kembla Grange galloper went straight to the front and led comfortably from gate eight
Chambers was able to give the five-year-old a mid-race breather as the rest of the field caught up, and turning for home, Victory At Omaha ($5.50) kicked again, hanging on for a half-length win from the Dan McCarthy-trained Classy Joe (Hannah Edgley, $4.20), while two lengths back in third was the Maddison Collins-trained The Doctor’s Son (Josh Richards, $14).
Bateup, who grew up in Cootamundra, hadn’t been back to Narrandera since she was a teenager, and she never intended to race there either.
Fate changed her plans, though, and after the meeting was transferred from Albury to Narrandera, Bateup decided to complete the five-and-a-half-hour trip with just one runner, which paid dividends.
“I was very much umming and ahhing whether we would go, and initially, I was looking for a track with a bit of give in it, and the heavy track at Albury appealed to me, and he (Victory At Omaha) should have probably won the last time he went there,” Bateup said.
“When it was moved to Narrandera, I thought it was too far, but I put it in maps, and from here, it’s the same distance and travel time, and I thought, if I was prepared to go to Albury, I would go to Narrandera.
“I called Kayla Nisbet when I drew wide and asked her about the start and whether it was too much of a disadvantage, but she filled me in with a few positives, and it’s good we went.”
Narrandera was a heavy eight when the fields came out, but the racecourse improved to a soft five by Sunday, which had Bateup wondering whether she had made the right decision.
“I was an hour into our trip, and I couldn’t believe the track went from a heavy eight to soft five, then we were wondering if he would get around the track, but it all panned out,” Bateup said.
“It’s a beautiful track, and it played very well, and the facilities are lovely, and I would say it is one of the neater and tidier tracks that I’ve raced at.”
Victory At Omaha’s win in the 1600m Open Handicap should be the perfect stepping stone into the Leeton Toyota Narrandera Cup, which will be held over the same distance on Sunday, July 16.
The $50,000 feature doubles as a Big Dance and Little Dance qualifier, and Bateup said she would return with the five-time winner in a bid to qualify him for the $3 million final.
“I sort of thought heading to Narrandera, if he could win that race, he would improve his benchmark, and it would guarantee him a start in the Narrandera Cup,” Bateup said.
For a rising six-year-old, The Brothers War gelding is only lightly raced, starting 17 times for five wins and two minor placings, but Bateup believes he can make that next step up in grade when contesting what will be a stronger-than-usual Narrandera Cup.
“He’s a very tough horse, but mentally, he is only just starting to mature,” Bateup said.
“There has been a lot of work going into him to get him to this stage, and even now, we wouldn’t get him to the barriers without a pony.
“Still, he’s shown he is up to provincial grade, and he probably wants a bit further, but we’ll keep him at 1600m for this race and go from there.”
Bateup knows what it takes to qualify a horse for the Big Dance, with Molly Bourke riding Crackalacka to victory in the Moruya Cup in January.
Bateup now hopes Victory At Omaha can join her talented mare in racing for Big Dance or Little Dance riches at Royal Randwick on the first Tuesday in November.
“I’ve already got Crackalacka qualified, and what you’re going to strike in the Big Dance is probably a grade or two above these couple of horses, but at the same time, if you earn the ticket, you deserve to be there,” Bateup said.
“Plus, it’s good prize money even if you finish top 10, and that’s what I’m sort of thinking about when trying to qualify these horses.”
Bateup, who had three horses racing at Kembla Grange on Tuesday, faces a busy week, with gallopers entered to race at Moruya and Scone on Friday and Kembla Grange and Wagga on Saturday.
– Jeff Hanson
Originally published: https://www.nswcountryandpicnicracing.com.au/narrandera-win-has-bateup-dreaming-big-with-victory-at-omaha/