Lightning finally strikes for Jenna Amory

By Jordan Gerrans

Former North Queensland trainer Jenna Amory landed her first winner ‘down south’ on Saturday afternoon and was chuffed to do so with a galloper she has been on a journey with for a couple of years.

Lightning had not struck for the small Amory stable since they won a race with Sunshiny Girl at Innisfail's Pease Park back in February of 2017.

All they needed was a horse with the right name.

It was three-year-old gelding Lightning Strikes who landed the breakthrough prize for Amory and her partner Kris Zahmel as the son of Rothesay claimed the QTIS Three-Year-Old Maiden Handicap over 1200 metres on Saturday.

Owned by Toowoomba’s Garry Nolan, Lightning Strikes did not figure in the finish on debut in November of last year but he was much improved in his first-up performance around Clifford Park.

“We were happy with the performance as he has always shown a fair bit of ability,” the Darling Downs trainer said.

“He is just a big immature lump of a thing (laughs).

“We were unsure if we were going to jump him out or start him a few months back but he had that first start.”

Amory and Zahmel run a spelling and pre-training facility on the outskirts of Toowoomba at Cambooya, which led the galloper to land in their racing stable.

Zahmel also works for Toowoomba trainer Lindsay Hatch at Clifford Park.

Nolan has had horses with a number of Darling Downs-based conditioners over the years but decided to give Amory a shot with Lightning Strikes and it paid almost immediate dividends.

“We have had him straight from the breakers – it has been a long haul for the last two years with him,” Amory said.

“He just kept growing and growing.”

Amory and Zahmel have settled on the Darling Downs in recent years after previously training out of Townsville, Innisfail and Mackay across the north of the state.

They have gone through a lean run of winners since shifting south.

The stable did not have a jockey for Lightning Strikes before Gold Coast trainer Maryann Brosnan scratched her runner in the race on Saturday morning, which paved the way for Adin Thompson to pick up the engagement.

Thompson would not have known much about the three-year-old prior to the weekend but there is no doubt he would have been glad to pick up the unexpected ride.

The hard-working Thompson has been in prolific form to commence the month of April.

He has already tallied eight winners in the first fortnight of the month, which included a Toowoomba double on Saturday afternoon.

“If anyone else was on it, I don’t think the horse would have won to be honest,” Amory said of Thompson’s ride on Lightning Strikes on Saturday.

“Adin rode him a treat and straight to instructions. He is not an easy horse to ride. No doubt, Adin will stick with him now probably.

“The horse certainly needs some encouraging because he has got it there.

“He will poke around, if you let him.”

Thompson presented the gelding at the right time as they nabbed a trio of three runners on the winning post to score.

Amory also had galloper Dream Summit accepted to race at Kilcoy on Saturday but the mare was scratched at the barriers.

The 35-year-old Amory has three gallopers in work as well as a handful of pre-trainers for other stables.