Caption: Top Townsville trainer Brad Belford and his wife Jackie … they’re heading south with a team of dogs. (Photo: Louise Partland)
by Mike Hill
LEADING Townsville trainer Brad Belford has decided to bypass the North Queensland Country Cup series and head to Brisbane for a ‘working holiday’ a few weeks earlier than planned.
Belford and his wife Jackie, who have been organising the trip for several months, will leave on Friday ‘providing the roads are open’ after heavy rain and flash flooding hit north and central Queensland at the weekend.
“It’s a holiday for us and a change for the dogs,” he said.
The Belfords are taking a team off 22 dogs south and will be staying with successful owner-breeder Dan Henry and his family.
Henry, who operates Showtime Lodge, a 40-acre property at Churchable in the Lockyer Valley, west of Ipswich, currently has nine dogs racing with Belford.
And it was his suggestion that the trainer bring some dogs south.
Their association has blossomed since Henry went searching for a trainer to take on a Hay Fergus-Miss Minaj litter early last year.
Belford agreed and the pair have developed into a formidable combination, landing more than 40 winners in the second half of 2022.
The partnership played a major role in the trainer achieving his best-ever season with the lead and collar, winning the Townsville trainers premiership with 188 wins – more than double his nearest rival – and finishing 13th on the national trainers’ points table.
“It’s a holiday for us and a chance to give the dogs a change – a change of scenery, a change of tracks,” Belford said.
“Many of the dogs have only ever raced at Townsville.
“They’ll get the chance to race at several different tracks (including Ipswich and Albion Park) and I might even venture into northern NSW.
“I know for sure they’ll return home better racing dogs.
“We plan to stay with Dan for three weeks and we could extend that to four.
“Jackie and I are treating it as a holiday although we’ll still be doing what we normally do with the dogs.
“However, we’ll have a few days off and Jackie wants to catch up with family members who live in the Brisbane region.
“It’s a break we both need.”
Belford said he was also expecting an extra sprinter to join the team once they’ve settled in at Churchable.
The smart Jay Schafer-trained Balts Orson will be flown to Brisbane once he completes his NQ Country Cup campaign, which begins this week.
“Jay wants the dog to gain a bit more experience and with a bit of luck he’ll be in the big Country Cup final (at Albion Park on February 2),” Belford said.
