Gavin Groth made the quick trip to Quirindi for the annual Boxing Day races and came narrowly close to taking out the opening race of the meeting with Bring The Joy beaten at the line by House Wins.
The second-place finish handed Groth $1870 out of the $11,000 prize pool and looked to have set the tone for the day with Big Tripper and Bacari also featuring on the day. It wasn’t meant to be as the pair finished eighth and seventh respectively.
Despite missing out on the victory, it was a step in the right direction for Groth and Bring The Joy which returned from a 25-week spell on December 10 at Warren. The seven-year-old mare finished ninth, then featured in Moree and picked up a fifth-place finish before improving in Quirindi.
The run at Quirindi will give Groth plenty of confidence heading into the new year and it looks as if the mare is ready to start challenging for wins once again. In 48 career starts, Bring The Joy has recorded six wins to go alongside five seconds, six thirds and $75,590 in prize money. Although at the back end of its career, the mare can continue to be one of Groth’s best thoroughbreds.
Meanwhile, Bring The Joy was overshadowed in Tamworth by its stablemates, Malzoom and Vista Girl. The pair picked up second-place finishes on New Year’s Day with Vista Girl beaten at the line by Sea Boss in the Maiden Plate. The five-year-old mare is still searching for its first career victory, however, it is closing in on breaking the drought.
Malzoom was comfortably beaten to the line by Sue Grills’ Crimson Rose but Groth will be delighted with the second place finish after a long 28-week spell in the paddock.
Bard’s Voice also featured in the same race as Vista Girl, although it came in second last over the 1300 metre race. Bring The Joy was unable to continue its form from Quirindi and had a similar fate to
Bard’s Voice with a seventh place in the 1900 metre race one in Tamworth.
Groth will be back in Gunnedah for a meeting on Thursday, January 13 with Gunnedah Jockey Club hosting its first event of the year with an action-packed calendar which features four meetings in the first five months of the year.
