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By Greg Prichard

Business is booming for Dubbo trainer Clint Lundholm and he is primed to strike another perfect note with a team that includes fairytale horse Listen To The Band going to the $150,000 Newhaven Park WRA Country Championships Qualifier over 1400m at Coonamble on Sunday.

Lundholm had five horses in last year’s qualifier and will again have major representation in this year’s race, with Listen To The Band, Amulet Street and Watch Me Rumble his prime contenders.

Amulet Street made last year’s Final via a second in the qualifier and then gave Lundholm and the horse’s owners a huge thrill when, as a $51 chance, he loomed up as a huge threat in the straight before finishing third in the $500,000 Final at Randwick.

Listen to the Band (Jake Pracey-Holmes) in winning form at Dubbo. Image by Janian McMillan (Racing Photography)

Even though the horse didn’t win, it still rated as the highlight of what was a real go-ahead year for the former jockey in the training profession. And the upward spiral has continued in the 2022-23 season.

“Business has been great,” Lundholm said. “Over the last two years we’ve invested pretty heavily in our yearlings and stock in general.

"Owners out west have stuck solid behind us and that’s helped us along.

“Last year we finished fourth on 47-and-a-half winners in the country premiership, just short of our goal of 50, and this year we’re sitting second on the ladder with 42, well on our way to hitting 60.

“We’re stoked with how it’s going and it’s the result of all of the hard work the whole team puts in.”

Listen To The Band is an eight-year-old gelding that didn’t race until he was five and then after a winless first campaign had two years off because of injury.

The horse was originally trained by Gayna Williams and Lundholm has only had charge of him since he came back into work for his latest campaign.

That campaign has seen Listen To The Band win four out of five starts and roar into calculations for this series with a stylish win in a Country Championships Class 4 Preview race over 1312m at Dubbo on February 13.

“I think this is what the Country Championships is all about, a fairytale story like this with Listen To The Band,” Lundholm said.

“I don’t think you’ll find any story better than this. He’s eight years old, won four from eight now, in career-best form obviously and he’s a leading contender in our qualifier.

“He’s a horse that oozes ability and here he is doing it in his later years.

“If he makes the Final it would be a huge pat on the back for everyone who’s involved in the stable and I’d love to do it for the owners who have been great in their support for us.”

Lundholm said he was shocked when Listen To The Band started as a short-priced favourite for the preview race.

“Even with his good form coming in, the preview race was a little bit of the unknown for us,” he said.

“I thought they were mad when he went up the $2.25 favourite. There were some nice horses in it heading towards the Championships, he’s eight years old, first start beyond 1200 metres.

"But the punters obviously knew what they were talking about. He won very well.

“It’s a credit to the horse. We’ve been able to nurture him through and the team’s done a great job just patching him up and keeping him feeling very well and managing his little joint issues, but he’s the one with the power and the speed.

“Amulet Street is a very classy galloper who’s right up there again as well and Watch Re Rumble is a very exciting mare. I’m rapt in her, she’s been a 12-month plan for this race.

“I thought when she ran at Bathurst last start it would be a nice tune-up race for her, but she went even better and won.

"She beat Amicus Curiae, which went on to win the Central Districts qualifier at Mudgee, so she’s definitely on the right path.”

View the race details for Coonamble here