The appeal of Queensland’s lucrative QTIS bonuses was highlighted in SO YOU SHOP’s maiden-breaking win at the Gold Coast on Saturday.
Lining up in just his second race start, SO YOU SHOP won the 1300m contest with his head on his chest, finishing 1.5 lengths clear of the second-placed runner.
In winning the provincial maiden, the Steve O’Dea-trained gelding collected a healthy $20,150 in prizemoney courtesy of the QTIS bonus scheme.
To put that into context, the winner of a provincial Saturday maiden in New South Wales is allocated $16,740 or $22,365 for a BOBS horse.
It’s also pertinent to consider that the winner of a midweek race in Sydney earns only $22,000.
Anyone in racing will tell you it is significantly harder to win such races in New South Wales than in Queensland so racing a horse with Steve O’Dea has obvious appeal.
SO YOU SHOP’s win also marked the return of jockey Boris Thornton, who has been an integral part of the stable over the last 12 months. Proven Thoroughbreds was delighted to see him make a successful comeback from a serious shoulder injury.
A son of SO YOU THINK, SO YOU SHOP is in the unique position of being eligible for BOBS as well as QTIS. Meetings at northern New South Wales tracks such as Grafton and Ballina have successfully been targeted by the O’Dea stable in the past and this horse will likely be given the chance to continue that trend.
One horse we sent to Grafton early in their career was SIENNA ROSE, a now four-year-old mare who has progressed to win back-to-back Saturday races at Eagle Farm.
Proven Thoroughbreds’ number of winners for 2019 now stands at 41 while our seasonal tally is up to 6.