Swayzee. Photo by Club Menangle
Grand Circuit stars Swayzee and Captains Knock will headline Friday night’s $40,000 Shirley Turnbull Memorial at Bathurst.
The time-honoured fast-class event has been run for more than three decades in memory of Shirley, one of the most respected matriarch’s in the sport who was the wife of the late great ‘AD’ Tony Turnbull, and mother to Anne, Steve, Therese, Craig, Cindy and the late Greg Turnbull all of whom excelled in harness racing at the highest level.
And the famous dynasty continues to produce unbridled talent with the Turnbull grandchildren and great grandchildren continuing to excel in the gig.
In this edition, no less than seven of Shirley’s descendants will be involved in the race, either as trainers, or drivers and all are keen to claim the winning prize.
But the Turnbull clan will need to perform out of their skin if they are going to win as they come up against Swayzee and Captains Knock who are likely to vie for favouritism.
Swayzee won last year’s edition as a short-priced $1.12 favourite and despite having some setbacks throughout the year, he does appear to be back to his best after a promising first up effort when he finished third behind Captains Knock at Tabcorp Park Menangle a fortnight ago.
Captains Knock has had a super end to the season, racing in the best form of his career and will be looking to make it seven wins on the bounce at Bathurst.
Connections of the stallion are keen to continue in their bid to capture the one million-dollar TAB Carnival of Cups bonus after taking out the first two legs at Wagga and Newcastle.
His trainer Brad Hewitt explained that given the horse’s temperament and need to continue race consistently, he earmarked races like the Shirley Turnbull and the Goulburn Cup as ideal contests for his stable star.
“It will be a strong contest, I am certain that we will have a fight on our hands given the quality of the field,” Hewitt said.
“The Carnival of Cups has become our main focus after our bloke won the Cup races at Wagga and Newcastle, but he is a horse that just loves hard work and racing.
“Thankfully, there are good prizemoney races coming up around the state we will chase to accommodate his needs as well as the Free-For-Alls at Menangle."
