Queen Assassin pays wedding bill for Walsh with Lightning win

By Glenn Davis

Talented Rockhampton sprinter Queen Assassin helped pay the expenses for young trainer Nick Walsh’s upcoming wedding with a record-breaking win in the Lightning Handicap at Townsville on Sunday.

Ridden by Justin Huxtable, Queen Assassin smashed Roweiner Dance’s previous track record by 0.85 seconds with a sizzling time of 54.32 seconds.

The four-year-old daughter of Better Than Ready exploded away for a convincing win over the well-backed Demon Award with Doubting Eye. 

Walsh and his fiancée, Brooke Brummell, are due to be married at Yeppoon next Saturday.

“That will help pay for the wedding,” a beaming Walsh said.

“The Lightning has been a race I’ve wanted to win for a long time and I’ve now finally ticked it off the bucket list.”

However, Queen Assassin’s win has left Walsh with a dilemma after recording her eighth win in 15 starts.

“I’m not sure what to do next with her, whether she continues or more likely have an ease up,” he said.

“She was a run short at Mackay when she ran fourth at her previous start and I think she’s a genuine Saturday class horse in Brisbane.”

Walsh gave Queen Assassin an opportunity in metropolitan grade in May when she tailed off last in the Bat Out Of Hell at the Sunshine Coast.

“She hates wet tracks and it was a bog track that day in the Bat Out Of Hell,” he said.

Walsh and Brummell share in the ownership of Queen Assassin after buying her for $24,0000 at the QTIS March yearling sales at the Gold Coast.

Meanwhile, Walsh narrowly missed out on claiming the feature double when the Bill Kenning-trained Beau Rain powered home to edge out Sailor’s Rum in the Townsville Guineas.

In a buffeting finish, Beau Rain stormed home over the top to beat Walsh's Sailor’s Rum and the Ricky Vale-trained Parade Ground.

There was a post-race protest alleging interference near the finish, but stewards dismissed the objections.

The victory gave jockey Lacey Morrison a treble after earlier wins on Cosmic Atom in the QTIS Two and Three-Year-Old Maiden Handicap and Speed Legend in the Open Handicap.

Kenning will weight up his options with Beau Rain, who he bought for $30,000 as a yearling at the QTIS March sales at the Gold Coast three years ago.

“There’s two nice races, similar to this coming up in Mackay and Cairns, so I’ll probably head to one of those as racing here closes down for eight weeks soon,” Kenning said.