MOUNT Isa trainers and jockeys have dominated the iconic two-day Birdsville race meeting winning more than half of the races.
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Thirteen races were contested on Friday and Saturday, with Mount Isa's premier trainers Jay Morris and Denise Ballard winning seven of them.
Mount Isa riders Dan Ballard and Aaron Spradau also dominated the Birdsville track, winning six races between them, each with a treble.
On Friday, Morris trained a treble with Whetstone, Emila and Tuatara winning strongly.
Emila took out the feature event for the day with jockey Wayne Kerford in the saddle.
Top Mount Isa jockey Aaron Spradau rode Whetstone and Tuatara to victory.
Steven Royes-trained Dimi The Dancer ran third in the race won by Emila.
The pair started as equal $3.20 favourites.
Saturday the winners kept coming for Morris, with his ever-consistent war horse Outstandingly ($1.60 favourite) taking out the Weight-for-age event in the feature sprint.
The sprinter beat fellow Mount Isa sprinter Chemin De Marc by close to five lengths.
Although Chemin De Marc was no match for Outstandingly, it remained a dominant day by for the mother-and-son duo of Denise and Dan Ballard.
The pair comined for three winners with Helluva Hurry, Marina Sands and Bullrama saluting.
Fellow Mount Isa conditioner Patrick Inwood also scored a handy result, with Faster Buster running second in the feature event of the meeting, the Birdsville Cup.
The Todd Austin-trained Primed won the Birdsville Cup.
The Ballard’s combined with Abdicated running third in the cup, while Servimoss started the race as favourite for Morris but ran 11th.
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STAR Mount Isa sprinter Jabiru Dreaming has flopped for the consecutive time, finishing second last in Brisbane on Saturday.
Carrying topweight, the 2011/12 horse of the year started the race at around $10 in betting but never let down in the straight after drifting back to last on settling down from a wide barrier in the field of 14.
The horse featured prominently in the stewards post-race report with rider, apprentice Aidan Holt questioned over his tactics.
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Holt explained that he was instructed to take hold of the horse from the barrier and settle it at the rear of the field, and then remain to the inside from the 600m in an attempt to to save ground rounding the home turn,” it said in the report.
Holt further added that JABIRU DREAMING was disappointing when placed under pressure in the home straight.
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WHILE the performance of Patrick Inwood’s top galloper Jabiru Dreaming was disappointing in Brisbane, the trainer was at his best in Mount Isa on Saturday.
Inwood prepared Taimex ($4) to score a thrilling victory in the feature event at Buchanan Park.
Ridden by Michael Evans, Taimex beat the rank outsider in the five-horse field, stablemate Norwegian ($17).
Topweight Surpasser ($2.50) ran third with $1.80 favourite Outback Elsa ran fourth.
Other winners on the day were My Boy Georgie for trainer Kerry Krogh, while Damien Finter scored a winner with Shimazu.
Inwood landed a training double with Fulgora’s win, with Finter following suit when Bianco Rossa won the last.