HE is the money again, as the Provincial-Midway Championships loom on the radar.
Hawkesbury’s leading trainer Brad Widdup is giving the PMC series much consideration for newcomer Money Team, who made it two wins from as many starts for his stable at his home track yesterday.
A $2.05 favorite, Money Team turned in an impressive performance to take the Provincial Benchmark 64 Handicap (1100m) after Newcastle’s Power Of The Brave ($4.40) had established what appeared to be a winning break with only 100m to go.
Even allowing for the fact that Power Of The Brave’s rider Ben Osmond dropped his whip near the 250m, former Victorian four-year-old Money Team kept coming to the line and defeated Wyong’s Annie’s Rose ($4.80).
Power Of The Brave was swamped in the last few strides and ran third.
Widdup this morning pointed out why the Provincial-Midway Championships are worth giving plenty of thought to in regard to his lightly-raced gelding.
“Money Team had a break of seven weeks between his trial at Rosehill Gardens on December 10 and when he won first-up at Wyong on Australia Day,” he said.
“I had wanted to give him a second trial, but the trials were either washed out or he was balloted out.
“Then he came back from 1200m at Wyong to 1100m at Hawkesbury, so there was certainly added merit to his effort.
“I’ll definitely think seriously about the PMC series as I believe he will be even better suited at 1400m.”
Widdup gave credit to former Gosford trainer Adrian Britt, who found Money Team for sale online last May and manages the syndicate, including Cooper Widdup, which races him.
“Money Team was a $1m buy at the 2022 Australian Easter yearling sale,” Widdup said.
“He had five starts in Victoria and was placed in four of them.
“We were able to get him for $55,000, and basically there wasn’t anything wrong with him.
“We decided to geld him after we bought him, and I’m sure it has made quite a difference.
“Whereas before he may not have had that strong will to win, his Hawkesbury performance showed that he is a different horse now.”
Money Team was Widdup’s 41st winner of the season, and the 32nd for stable apprentice Zac Wadick, who needs only one more to reach a career 150.
Gosford’s Greg McFarlane and Wyong’s Denim Wynen also were successful at the midweek Hawkesbury meeting.
McFarlane won the 2 & 3YO Maiden Plate (1000m) with $1.40 hotpot Bremel, whilst Wynen took the F&M Benchmark 64 Handicap (1400m) with Monkhana ($8.50), continuing Wyong apprentice Anna Roper’s terrific run; her 29th winner of the season, and all in the last couple of months since returning from an injury enforced layoff.
Bremel, a three-year-old daughter of Capitalist, was having only her second start and trounced her five rivals.
Four-year-old Mongolian Khan mare Monkhana began her career in New Zealand, where she raced six times and won a Maiden Plate (1600m) at Pukekohe in June last year.
This was only her second start for her new trainer, who put blinkers on her after she won a trial at home on January 29.
Monkhana was resuming yesterday, and surged clear over the closing stages to suggest more wins are in store.
Story John Curtis, February 13, 2025 - Pics Bradley Photos
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