SO CLOSE TO A TWO-STATE TREBLE

OH what might have been?

Brad Widdup left Doomben racecourse yesterday shaking his head in disbelief!

Hawkesbury’s leading trainer had won a race at Royal Randwick earlier in the day – his 53^rd this season - but an ounce of luck could have seen him land a treble across two States.

A pair of all-conquering Sydney trainer Chris Waller’s runners robbed him of a great day.

After a resurgent Bella Khadijah ($11) had stormed home from well back in the Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap (1400m), Widdup was narrowly beaten with both Ruby Flyer ($14) at Randwick, and Hyperbolic ($21) at Doomben.

He almost pulled off a great training performance with accomplished wet tracker Ruby Flyer (Zac Lloyd), who was tackling 1600m in the Benchmark 94 Handicap at his first start since November.

He had run third in the same race 12 months earlier.

Ruby Flyer had to race wide throughout, and was pipped at the post by God’s Window ($5.50), who saved valuable ground near the inside and was the third leg of a maiden Sydney treble for apprentice Siena Grima.

Ruby Flyer, last year’s Goulburn Cup winner on heavy ground, had good support from lengthier double figure odds as continuing rain forced a downgrade in yesterday’s track to a ‘Heavy 9’.

Hyperbolic ran a mighty race when narrowly beaten by last year’s Group 1 Queensland Oaks runner-up Pinito ($4.20) in the Group 3 Magic Millions Fillies and Mares Mile at Doomben.

“She deserved to win,” Widdup said today.

“That’s two seconds in a row now, so surely another win is just around the corner.

“All going well, she will hopefully achieve that at Eagle Farm on Saturday week.”

That will also be against her own sex in the $500,000 Magic Millions National Classic (1600m).

Widdup is adamant a return to blinkers has been instrumental in Bella Khadijah’s return to winning form.

“Putting blinkers back on her has surely helped, and she has also had good set-ups in winning her last two starts,” he said.

Leading apprentice Braith Nock has partnered the mare in both wins.

Bella Khadijah, a four-year-old daughter of Pierata, stormed down the extreme outside to take a similar grade race (but over 1500m) at Hawkesbury’s Saturday stand-alone meeting on May 2.

Again she came from well back yesterday, surging late to edge out Newcastle trainer Jason Deamer’s Phyxius ($6.50), who looked certain to win when he hit the front in the straight.

The $4.20 favorite Flying Embers was a game third under her 60kg topweight.

Kembla Grange co-trainers Mitch Beer and George Carpenter were the sole provincial winners at Nowra today.

Team Beer landed the closer, the Benchmark 66 Handicap (1400m) with $3.50 favorite Spiritualistic, ridden by Adam Farragher.

STORY JOHN CURTIS, MAY 25, 2026 - PICS BRADLEY PHOTOS