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By Frances O'Shea

Bargain buy Obelius ($21 on TAB) has turned a $1000 online purchase into a $140,000 return for Newcastle hobby trainer Dale Wagstaff and he believes there are more wins to come.

He brought the son of Nicconi in October 2022 and the now six-year-old has put together five wins and multiple placings since being under Wagstaff’s care.

Obelius (Billy Owen) returns after winning at Goulburn. Image by Bradley Photographers

He shoots for win number six in the 1350m BJ Howes Metaland Conditional BM 68 at Wyong on Tuesday and Wagstaff is confident he will run well.

“We have been targeting the tried horses for a while, sometimes you get lucky and other times it doesn’t work out,” he said.

“With Obelius I think the change in environment was a big factor in turning his form around.

"Mal and Rodney Ollerton, both helped me riding him in the early days at Newcastle.

"When I first got on him, he bucked but they were able to settle him down.

“I own a riding school on the outskirts of Sydney with my partner Rachelle Bolton and while I still train from Newcastle, I don’t take them to the track much.

"We have a treadmill, track and outdoor arena so they do most of their work here.

“Obelius has really responded to not having to be floated to the track every day. He’s a different horse.”

Jenny Duggan rides Obelius at Wyong and it was her suggestion to bring him back in distance to the 1350m.

“She rode him for a third at Canterbury over 1550m on February 9 but said he pulls harder over more distance, so we’ve dropped him back.

"She knows how to ride him now with plenty of room in the straight. He’s a horse who responds to the quick back up.

"He eats up a lot better after a race than a track gallop, so we keep racing him and he’s a happy horse.

“He thrives on racing and the distance should be ideal. I think he’ll be right in the finish.”

Wagstaff said it’s more a learning experience for him with his latest online buy Patrika Gold ($17), who lines up in the 1100m Mechpro Solutions Au BM64 Handicap in her first start for the stable.

He paid $4500 for the lightly raced six-year-old Puissance De Lune mare who has had four wins from just 12 starts.

“I’ve put Aaron Bullock on because he’s such a great judge and can tell me what he thinks going forward.

“She’s settled in really well with us, is fit and has every possible chance of winning. If not I’ll appreciate Aaron’s feedback. “

The first of eight races gets underway at 1.15pm with the track currently a Soft 5.

SELECTIONS
Race 1 – 1.15pm: INSURANCE HOUSE F&M MAIDEN (1100m): 1 SUMMER SOIREE, 2 Tautou, 3 Cross Your Heart, 4 Miss Bayles.
Race 2 – 1.05PM: COMMSYS CG&E MAIDEN (1100m): 1 DETENDU, 2 Luna Field, 3 The New Sinatra, 4 Never Joking.
Race 3 – 2.25pm: INFRABUILD PROVINCIAL MAIDEN (1600m): 1 HIMEROS, 2 Bling’s Empire, 3 Piplup, 4 Mars Rover.
Race 4 – 3.05pm: LINCOLN ELECTRIC CLASS 1 (1600m): 1 STANCZYK, 2 Noble Tess, 3 Gardenzio, 4 Twelfth Knight.
Race 5 – 3.40pm: LEVELMASTER MAIDEN (1300m): 1 KHAZNAH, 2 BO KATAN, 3 Kervette, 4 Paruna.
Race 6 – 4.15pm: BJ HOWES METALAND CONDITIONAL BM68 (1350m): 1 MICKEY’S MEDAL, 2 Scalextrics, 3 Innervoice, 4 Obvious Step.
Race 7 – 4.50pm: COREGAS MIDWAY CLASS 1 (1200m): 1 Rush Hour, 2 River Pat, 3 Fludway, 4 Oakfield Triumph.
Race 8 – 5.30pm: MECHPRO SOLUTIONS AU BM64 (1100m): 1 TRISKELION, 2 Lohnraki, 3 Patrika Gold, 4 Azayaka.

View the final fields with full form & race replays for Wyong here