DARRYL Hansen believes Balboa Rocks is good enough to carry the big weight in Saturday’s $100,000 Townsville Cup as he bids to win the race for a second time.

Balboa Rocks won the Mackay Cup this month and can put himself in the frame for the Northern Crown bonus if he is successful on Saturday.

Any horse that wins three legs of the five Northern Crown series races is entitled to a $150,000 bonus, which would become $200,000 if one of those races happened to be the Cairns Amateurs Cup on September 8.

Hansen pinpointed Balboa Rocks as the ideal Northern Crown horse, but narrowly missed the opening leg when he was a close-up third in the Rockhampton Cup.

He took out the second leg of the series by winning the Mackay Cup, and now has Saturday’s Townsville feature and both the Cairns and Cairns Amateurs cups in a bid to win the bonus.

Hansen won the Townsville Cup in 2011 with Hussonator and is confident Balboa Rocks can give him a second win in the race.

“I was born in Charters Towers and grew up in Townsville, so it’s pretty special when you can win one of the big races up here,” he said.

“I don’t think the weight will stop him.

“He’s proven he can carry the big weights and this field doesn’t look any stronger than the Mackay Cup where he carried 58kg. So I don’t see the 59kg as a disadvantage.”

Hansen also has a travelling companion for Balboa Rocks as he treks further north next month.

“Royal Atom is an up-and-coming stayer and I’ve thought for a while he would be the perfect horse for Cairns,” the trainer said.

“He’s in a benchmark race (Saturday) and after this we will step him up in trip again.”

Racing Queensland has announced a new “Country Cups Challenge”, complete with a $70,000 metropolitan final over 1600m on George Moore Stakes Day, December 1.

The final will bring together the winners of 16 Country Cups held across Queensland between September and November, with the proviso being acceptors need to have run in at least three non-TAB races in the previous 12 months.

“While the Battle of the Bush put the spotlight on some of the bush’s most hardened sprinters, the Country Cups Challenge will act as a ‘Grand Final’ for Queensland’s country cups circuit,” Racing Queensland general manager of racing (thoroughbred) Simon Stout said.

STANLEY PLANS FOR ICING ON THE CAKE
JUSTIN Stanley is poised to cap his best season and erase the disappointment of a few near misses in Townsville’s Cleveland Bay Handicap when he rides Peacock in the feature sprint.

Stanley has key rides in both $100,000 features at Townsville, as he also teams with defending champ Chivadahlii in the Cup.

Chivadahlii was ridden by Bobby El-Issa to win last year’s Cup, but Stanley did win the race in 2003 with Forest Pride.

The Cleveland Bay, however, has been a source of frustration, Stanley coming closest when second on Trusted Partner in 2010.

“It would be nice to win it after all these years,” he said. “Peacock is the class runner, but I do admit I would have loved him to have a kilo or two less.”

Peacock won the Rockhampton Newmarket with 54.5kg, but rises to 60kg on Saturday.

“They didn’t miss him,” Stanley said.

“I note he just missed one day at Warwick Farm with 60kg in a Benchmark 90, so you would think that’s good enough for a race like this. Hopefully he’s good enough to do it.”

Recent wins in the Mackay and Rockhampton Newmarkets, plus the inaugural Battle of the Bush Final and a century of winners has made this a year to remember for Stanley. Peacock and Chivadahlii could add a little further icing to the cake.

“I thought Chivadahlii’s run in the Mackay Cup (when sixth) was nice enough but he just raced a little dour, so the step up to 2000m is definitely going to suit,” he said.

“Of the ones coming through the Mackay Cup, this trip is going to suit him better than the ones that finished ahead of him.

“(Trainer) Jamie McConachy has said Townsville’s been his main target all along and from what he’s told me, the horse is spot on for this.”