HAWKESBURY TRAINERS SHARING A WINNING HABIT

IT’S a pretty good habit to share!

Hawkesbury trainers Brad Widdup and Jason Attard are making a practice of winning races at the same home track meetings.

For the third time this season they did it again today; the only difference being that Widdup prepared a double.

Having defeated all comers last season to become the first local trainer to win the Hawkesbury premiership in three decades, Widdup’s victories with Blue Eyes Brigid ($2.45 favorite) and Diamond Show ($9.50) took him to six wins and the premiership lead at the end of the first quarter of this new racing season.

Attard’s success with Nesrine ($1.80 favorite) was his fifth this season – and all have been on his home track – and shares second spot with Sydney’s champion trainer Chris Waller.

Widdup (Young Mister Grace) and Attard (Prefer Diamonds) both had winners at the September 25 meeting, and were to the fore again on October 9; Widdup scoring once more with Young Mister Grace, and Attard with Nesrine.

Widdup’s most successful jockey Christian Reith partnered Blue Eyes Brigid in the Racing Mates Resilience Provincial Maiden Plate (1500m) for his 60^th win for the stable.

The Farnan filly was a $110,000 Inglis Premier yearling purchase in Melbourne this year for Mulberry Racing, and is cleverly named.

Her dam is Miracleofmiracles, and folklore has it that Saint Brigid of Ireland had “power” in helping miracles; healing, feeding the hungry, rescuing the weak from violence and even turning water into beer.

The equine “Brigid” didn’t need any miracles today. She powered away over the closing stages to score by more than four lengths from fellow Hawkesbury trainer Ed O’Rourke’s well backed Ridgeback ($2.60).

“This was only Blue Eyes Brigid’s fourth start and second this time in, so she is heading in the right direction,” Widdup said.

“She took nice improvement from her first-up second to Emalyn in a 1300m Provincial Maiden Plate at Newcastle earlier in the month.”

Widdup sealed a double to take his tally to 15 for the season so far when he prepared Diamond Show (Tyler Schiller) for a first-up victory in the Richmond Club Benchmark 64 Handicap (1400m) against her own sex.

The four-year-old daughter of Almanzor was strongest to the line to defeat $4.40 joint favorites Empress Of Japan and Emilia Jane.

Schiller had ridden Diamond Show in both lead-up trials, and Widdup felt the mare was ready to run well on resumption.

“The conditions probably were in our favour as her three career wins have all been on wet tracks, but all the same I’m sure she would have also been very competitive on a good track,” Widdup said.

Hawkesbury’s leading trainer was referring to the fact that rain forced a downgrade from a starting point “Good 4” to eventually a “Soft 6”.

Tom Sherry replaced a suspended Tommy Berry on Attard’s lightly-raced Denman mare Nesrine in the Mental Health Matters Class 1 Handicap (1100m) – and earned his pay.

He had to work hard to get Nesrine home in a tight finish from Show Business ($21) and fellow Hawkesbury trainer Steve O’Halloran’s Nymphadora ($15), ensuring she made it two wins from as many starts this preparation.

“I was getting ready to bite my finger nails at the 200m,” Attard admitted.

“It looked like Nesrine’s wheels were spinning at that point, but Tom got hold of her and was able to get her home.

“The track may have been a bit shifty because of the rain, and her first-up easy win in Maiden company earlier in the month was on a good surface.

“She is doing a terrific job considering what she had to overcome (a fractured skull in a paddock accident earlier in the year).”

HOOFNOTE: Sherry will join forces with Widdup on Saturday to ride Jedibeel (57.5kg) in the $3m Russell Balding Stakes (1300m) at Royal Randwick.

Kembla Grange co-trainers Mitch Beer and George Carpenter continued on their winning ways by making it four provincial winners at Hawkesbury.

Team Beer took the Elite Sand & Soil Midway Benchmark 64 Handicap (1800m) with $6.50 chance Geemes (Alysha Collett).

A four-year-old mare by Grunt, Geemes had bolted in at Queanbeyan on October 12, and quickly made the graduation to provincial company.

She surged down the outside to score by just over three lengths from Koning ($4) and Hawkesbury trainer Ed Cummings’ North Terrace ($12).

Story John Curtis, October 28, 2025 - Pics Bradley Photos