28 December 2022 | HRNSW MEDIA | MICHAEL DUMESNY
It was a fitting end to the 2022 season when the Steve Turnbull trained Smooth Baht took out the Group 2 Shirley Turnbull Memorial, the $50,000 feature on Bathurst Harness Racing Club’s calendar, named in the honour of Steve’s late mother.
Owned by Steve and his wife Jenny, the five year old was driven by their daughter Amanda who buried the gelding away on the pegs, allowing him plenty of time to settle over the marathon 2790 metre trip.
Then after following the pegs and pinching runs rounding the home turn, Amanda seized an opportunity under the 100 metre mark when she drove Smooth Baht through a needle eye opening to snatch victory right on the post to score by a bare margin.
Petes Said So and Jilliby Kung Fu ran the placings ahead of a wall of horses that finished close up.
The win brought up Steve’s fifth in the feature, his previous coming in 2009 when Slick Bromac was successful.
Amanda had previously won the race back in 2007 aboard Gold Claim when she was just seventeen.
“This is a race I strive to have a runner in every year,” said Steve.
“There is no hiding the fact that we yearn to win Mum’s race, so getting back into the winner’s circle on Monday night was so satisfying.”
“Smooth Baht has been such a good horse to us. He has contested races at the higher level right throughout his career and this season has been his best.”
“From his draw, I was uncertain that he would be quite up to them, but Amanda produced one of her perfect drives.”
“She does freakish things and I doubt that Baht would have got home without her in the gig.”
For Steve, the 2022 season has been a fruitful one.
A centurion on the Trainer’s Premiership for a fourteenth time, Turnbull also brought up his 4000th career win at Parkes midway through the year when You Cannot Hide won when partnered by son Mitch.
“To be honest, we had planned to scale back this year and had reduced our numbers. But the results kept rolling in for us which is pleasing.”
“It takes a real team effort at home to get these horses to produce their best and be at their peak on race day.”
Bathurst will conduct a regular eight-race program tonight.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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