GOSFORD TRAINER’S PREMIERSHIP GOES DOWN TO THE WIRE

By Brenton Le Grand

As we near the end of the 2020/2021 season the Gosford trainer’s premiership is looking like being a ding-dong battle between Adam Duggan and Kylie Gavenlock.

As of mid-June there’s only a handful of winners between them, with both trainers having exceptional strike rates over the past 11 months. Duggan holds a slender lead but Gavenlock is hopeful of a late season comeback.

“Hopefully I can gnaw my way back at him,” Gavenlock said.

“But even if Adam won, I’d be happy.

“Adam was a foreman for me for 15 years before he went out on his own. He was pretty much like a son to me for a lot of years.”

Gavenlock has unleashed some promising horse flesh this season with perhaps the best of them being the well-named Cream Rises. The well-bred Fastnet Rock gelding, out of Group 2 winning mare More Strawberries, started his career putting two wins together on the bounce including one at his home track, before heading to town and finishing an unlucky fourth.

“He’s a very nice horse,” Gavenlock said.

“He ran fourth in town the other day, but he got knocked over.

“I’ve tipped him out for a spell now, but he’s a very good prospect moving forward.”

Gavenlock is looking forward to embracing the new and improved training facilities.

“We’re getting a new fastwork track and some updates around the place,” Gavenlock said.

“You can always do with more horses so hopefully some people will see that and throw a few our way.”

Duggan is also hopeful that the new facilities and introduction of the new Midway races in town will attract new clientele.

“The new Polytrack is under construction at the moment,” Duggan said.

“It’ll be a great addition for the trainers here and it will be welcomed with open arms.

“I’m also really looking forward to the Midway races.

It just gives us something to aim at and go racing on a Saturday in town.”

Earlier this year Racing NSW announced prize money increases of $20 million annually and the creation of a new $100,000 Midway Race to be to be added to metropolitan Saturday race meetings.

This initiative is exclusively for small to mid-sized NSW metropolitan and provincial stables and will suit many of the trainers operating out of the Gosford area.