THE last time Kerry Parker brought off a city hat-trick resulted in a $1m bonus.
The Kembla Grange trainer’s now retired champ Think It Over won the Group 2 Hill Stakes and Group 3 Craven Plate at Royal Randwick and Rosehill Cup – all at 2000m and at fortnightly intervals in October 2021.
It’s quite a different story this time, with much less prizemoney and no bonus attached either, but nonetheless it will mark another brilliant training performance if he can bring off a hat-trick in town with Justela in the Benchmark 78 Handicap (1600m) at Randwick tomorrow.
The six-year-old mare was purchased online for only $1250 by former 1980s and 1990s Kembla Grange trainer Mark Goodfellow as an unraced and unnamed four-year-old mare in September 2022.
Goodfellow had seen her, noted she was a “real athlete” and immediately took a shine to her, and invited some of his mates to join him in a partnership.
Twenty-one starts later, which have yielded six wins and three placings, Justela’s prizemoney stands at $244,550 and will soar past the $250,000 mark with a “Top 4” finish.
Parker of course wants to win again with Justela, who has struck a purple patch of form in Midway Benchmark 72 Handicaps.
She scored over 1400m at her home track’s The Gong metropolitan meeting on November 23, and then a fortnight later in a 1500m event at Rosehill Gardens, defeating stablemate Mah Ali.
Parker had thought about scratching her when rain turned the track into a ‘Heavy 8” that day, as she had come off a record success on good ground at Kembla Grange.
“This is obviously a step up coming out of Midway grade, but she is ready for it,” Parker said today.
“I have been pleased with how she has trained on since that Rosehill performance three weeks ago.
“Her first two wins last year were over 1600m at Wyong and Gosford, so the distance isn’t a problem.
“Justela has drawn an inside barrier tomorrow, and that’s important when you are going up in grade.
“I can’t see any reason why she won’t run well again.”
Jay Ford has partnered Justela in both her recent wins, and stays aboard in search of making it three in a row.
Prior to Think It Over’s three-peat, Parker also won three in a row with the now retired Tampering (in March 2020 at Nowraand then twice at Kembla Grange).
Whereas the Midways are restricted to eligible provincial and city trainers, the majority of Justela’s Randwick rivals are from city stables.
Hawkesbury husband and wife trainers Jason Attard and Lucy Keegan-Attard have the only other provincial representative in front-runner Luvoir (Winona Costin).
Justela was at $20 when she won at Kembla Grange, and was listed as a $10 chance with TAB.com.au on Friday morning.
It will be a long wait for Parker to learn whether Justela can complete a hat-trick in town as hers is the last of nine races at 5.55pm, and this morning he was trying to sort out whether he would be trackside or at his home meeting, where he has a number of runners.
“Several of them are also in later races, so I’m not sure what I will do,” he said.
Story John Curtis, December 27, 2024
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