Last hurrah for Tinkler in Aust racing

Wednesday 17 September 2014, 6:21pm

In perhaps the ultimate result in the irony stakes, Nathan Tinkler's often turbulent involvement in Australian thoroughbred racing has ended the same way it started.

The former coal baron who ploughed hundreds of millions of dollars into racing after making a big entrance six years ago, will collect one last cheque thanks to Hooked's win in the prestigious Cameron Handicap at Newcastle on Wednesday.

"That's our last runner. That's Patinack (Farm) all done and dusted," Hooked's trainer John Thompson said.

In 2008, Tinkler announced his arrival in Australian racing when Raheeb, trained by Anthony Cummings, won the Cameron Handicap.

He was front and centre in the mounting yard that day but on Wednesday, Thompson, the last in a long line of trainers to have worked for the crumbling Patinack Farm empire, confirmed Tinkler tuned into the race from his Singapore home.

During a year when Tinkler has cut his ties with the Newcastle Knights and has declared an intention to off-load the Newcastle Jets, winning one of the coal city's biggest races is akin to salvaging something from the wreck of Newcastle's sporting landscape.

Tinkler will dispose of his bloodstock portfolio at the end of the month following the decision by Magic Millions owner Gerry Harvey to call in a debt that has reportedly spiralled to $40 million.

Hooked will be among more than 500 horses to go under the hammer at the unreserved dispersal sale at the Gold Coast.

"I won my first race here for Nathan and now I've won my last race for him. (It's time to) pull up stumps," Thompson said.

Hooked's immediate future will be in the hands of the auctioneers and Thompson doesn't know if the horse will have a place in his stable beyond the end of the month.

"It's been well deserved. He's been knocking on the door in very good races and probably just hasn't got the job done," Thompson said.

"I was surprised he was in front today but it probably didn't give him something to run past and leading might be his go in the future."

Ridden a calm race in front by Blake Shinn, Hooked ($3.60) had enough in hand to hold out Rugged Cross ($13) and Mighty Lucky ($15).

– AAP

Latest News

Prime Thoroughbreds - We have a Host of Leaders in our Team

Tuesday, 29 June 2021

Prime Thor­ough­bred’s cur­rent rac­ing team is putt­ing to­gether quite a re­cord. We have 22 hors­es that have raced in our team at pre­sent. Six­teen of th­ese are win­n­ers in­clud­ing the Stakes win­n­ing trio Ru­bisa­ki, Fituese and Xtreme­time with Miss Di­vine Em and Miss In Charge run­n­ing 4th in Stakes races. This sees a stakes win­n­er to win­n­er ra­tio of 18.75% with a stake’s per­formed to win­n­er ra­tio of 31.25%. Th­ese are ex­cep­tio­n­al fig­ures.   More »

Freedmans land maiden Group One win

Saturday, 27 February 2021

Un­der-rat­ed fil­ly For­bid­den Love has emerged as an au­tumn car­ni­val smokey with a bril­liant per­for­mance to win the Sur­round Stakes at Rand­wick.  More »

Capriccio completes Damian Lane treble

Saturday, 27 February 2021

In a big day for coun­try-trained hors­es, War­r­nam­bool fil­ly Capric­cio has tak­en out the In­glis Dash for Daniel Bow­man.  More »

More news headlines »