MARTINO’S VERSATILE TWO-TRACK DOUBLE

IT’S been quite a weekend for Fabio Martino.

The young Hawkesbury trainer ran up his local training base’s 150^th season winner at Canberra last Friday, and made it 151 with another victory at Newcastle yesterday.

And he showed his versatility by scoring with a lightly-raced six-year-old gelding, and a debutante.

Acquaro (Pierre Boudvillain), a $4.40 chance, upset Kembla Grange hotpot Hold My Drink ($1.50 favorite) in the Maiden Handicap (1280m) at Canberra’s ACTON (synthetic) track on Friday.

Then Martino headed in a different direction to Newcastle yesterday to also quickly shed first starter Full Of Fun’s (pictured above) maiden status.

Ridden by Ellen Hennessy, Full Of Fun ($8.50) defeated Master Johnny ($4.80) and Stability ($3.70) in the Midway 3YO Maiden Handicap (1400m).

Acquaro, unsurprisingly because of his pedigree, fetched $600,000 as a yearling, and was unplaced at his only start at Gosford in 2022 for a major Sydney stable, having won a Randwick trial leading up to that debut.

“Acquaro is raced by some of my good clients, and they decided to transfer him to me,” Martino said today.

“Because he was in a paddock for so long, it has taken quite a while to get him fit.

“That was his fifth run for me at Canberra, and he did a good job to run down the favorite on the synthetic track.

“Whilst he is rising seven years of age, he is in good order and hopefully that win will give him confidence to score again.”

Though Full Of Fun was at good odds at Newcastle, Martino was confident the three-year-old filly could run well.

Run well she did. She finished strongly to defeat Kembla Grange trainer Theresa Bateup’s Master Johnny and Wyong trainer Nacim Dilmi’s Stability.

Full Of Fun, a daughter of Castelvecchio, was initially prepared at Scone by Paul Messara and Leah Gavranich, but trialled twice without racing.

She found her way to Hawkesbury, where fellow trainer Mick Attard’s son Lee is the syndicate manager.

“Mick and myself are good friends, and it has been pretty wet at Mick’s property,” Martino said.

“My father is a part-owner, and I was given the opportunity to train her.

“Full Of Fun had one trial on the synthetic track at Warwick Farm late last month, and had worked well since.

“I felt the 1400m Maiden was suitable to begin her career, and she did the job for us.”

The two-track double boosted Martino’s number of winners so far this season to eight, four more than last season.

. Wyong’s Kristen Buchanan and Newcastle’s Kris Lees and David Atkins were the provincial winners at Port Macquarie today.

Buchanan scored with Moana Gold ($1.75 favorite), Lees with Smashing Nova ($2.90 favorite), and Atkins with Rockbarton Marshal ($7).

STORY JOHN CURTIS, JUNE 14, 2026 - PICS BRADLEY PHOTOS