175,000 Reasons For Exhibitionist To Take Out The Brisbane Cup

There is 175,000 reasons why Darryl Chapman is hoping his brilliant speedster Exhibitionist can take out tonight's Group One Brisbane Cup final at .

If she were to score not only would she claim the $75,000 winner's , but she would also pick up an extra $100,000 breeders for being the first progeny of Superman whelped after 1/8/2009 to claim a One feature.

With the offer ending after December 31, this will be the third last chance to claim the bonus. The only other Group One races between now and the end of the year are the Hobart Thousand and the .

And Exhibitionist has a great chance to pick up the massive pay check. The red fawn speedster was ultra-impressive in her heat last Thursday, upstaging boom Queenslander Happy Haswell to earn her spot in the final.

Beginning exceptionally from box six, Exhibitionist quickly found the lead and was never headed in 29.91.

“She has the ability to do that and she had shown it throughout her career. She has always been a quick beginner, occasionally she throws in an ordinary start, but if she gets it right she is a really smart beginner,” Chapman explained.

Amazingly, Exhibitionist was almost retired just prior to the series. Having been trained throughout the majority of her career by , co-owners Chapman and Darren Scells brought her back to NSW to be trained by Chapman as they wound down her career.

“We brought her home from Tony to retire her, she has fallen four times throughout her career. In the Megastar Prelude at a dog ran off the track and slammed into her and another dog which broke its leg. Someone raced out on the track to stop her (Exhibitonist) from running back into the field and it frightened the hell out of her.

“When she went back to Tony after that she had a different sort of personality and she was a little bit off.  She has done enough for us and with her falling so many times we didn't want to risk her getting hurt, she is such a sweet little dog.

“We came up with the idea that we would give her a shot at the Cup, with the view to go the Brisbane Cup if she went alright. If not we were going to bring her back home and give her a couple of runs at Wentworth Park until she came on season and then mate her to .”

Exhibitionist finished mid field in her heat of the Ipswich Cup last month before running third in a Best 8 event on final night. Chapman then took her to Wentworth Park, as per the original plan, were she exceeded everyone's expectations, running a sizzling 29.70.

“She had never been to Wentworth Park. She had never trialled there and I believe that is what it is all about with her, she loves going to new tracks. She really likes new environments and she tends to ping the lids when you take her to a new place.

“As soon as she won at Wentworth Park, Tony rang us up and asked if we were going to bring her back for the Brisbane Cup which we decided to go back for.”

Chapman is at a loss to explain Exhibitionist's turnaround, stating that it could be any one of a number of things.

“My wife goes down and gives her a cuddle in the morning and after work and she is jumping out of her skin. Whether it is that or just the boxes she has been drawing, I'm not sure, it might just be the change of scenery that she wanted, who knows?”

Either way, there is no denying that Exhibitionist is thriving in her new kennel. Chapman, who is thankful to Tony Brett for all the work he has done with her throughout her career, is now elated to  be training her and gives her a good chance in the decider despite being drawn in box four.

“It is a great ride, I never thought I would be training a Group One dog ever in my life. All of a sudden I am and to top it off we own her and she has a very good chance of taking it out.

“She has been in about eight group finals so I think she is due for a win, but it will all depend on how she begins. She has to be able to jump and hold them out, I know she is good enough to do it, it just depends on whether she can do it on the night.

Exhibitionist, who has won 16 of her 43 starts, will potentially be aimed at further Group features around the country if everything goes to plan in the Brisbane Cup final. For now it is a dream come true for Chapman and Scells, who have been in the industry for eight and five years respectively, to be racing their star performer on the Group one stage, especially with an additional $100,000 on the line.

“Tony took her to the Megastar to try and get the Superman breeders bonus. When that plan came unstuck we had given up on trying to get it but at her last few runs she has just been flying, she is racing the best she has during her career at the moment.

“To get a group bitch in this period is just phenomenal, some people go their whole lives without getting a dog like her.”

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments