Free Thinker takes out The Hayden to secure Racing Queensland slot

LEVIATHAN owner Kevin Seymour has a good problem on his hands.

Free Thinker’s win in last night’s $207,000 The Hayden guaranteed Seymour a runner in the $2.1mil TAB Eureka, but also took away the pacer he planned to run in his own slot.

By winning The Hayden, Free Thinker secured Racing Queensland’s slot in the world’s richest harness race at Menangle on September 7.

“It’s great to have a runner again in this year’s TAB Eureka,” Seymour said. “But has created a real quandary for us because we were going to use our slot to get Free Thinker in.

“It’s a good problem to have, but it also puts us in a very interesting position.

“We’d love to take another one of our horses, but I don’t think we’ve got one good enough, so we’ll have to look outside the stable.

“I had a couple of trainers come up last night (at Albion Park) and ask if we’d be interested in their horses.

“We’ll be casting the net far and wide and seeing what’s available.

“It’s a bit tricky when so many of the best chances have already been taken, so we’ve got some work to do.”

Adding to the dilemma was High Above’s disappointing run at Melton last night.

“I can say he’s a horse we were looking at, but he didn’t do enough last night,” Seymour said.

“We’ll go back to the drawing board and start again.”

Seymour, who teamed with Grant Dixon to finish second with Leap To Fame in last year’s inaugural TAB Eureka, is warming to Free Thinker’s prospects.

“He’s a nice little horse who has really come on this campaign,” he said. “Grant always felt he had the potential and he’s putting it all together.

“He’s run some great races lately and Grant says he’s not out of his depth at all in a race like the TAB Eureka.”

Free Thinker firmed from $26 to $16 for the TAB Eureka after his Hayden.

Young WA star Never Ending remains a $3.50 favourite after his sparkling winning return to racing at Gloucester Park last Friday week.

The other firmer from last night was Luke McCarthy’s emerging mare Eye Keep Smiling ($51 into $21) after upstaging Australia’s best mares in the $150,000 Group 1 Golden Girl at Albion Park.

Four-year-old mare Encipher upstaged the boys to win last year’s TAB Eureka.

Eye Keep Smiling is the only mare in serious consideration at this stage for this year’s race.

Family connections enjoy Free Thinker’s victory. PHOTO: Dan Costello

Turpin, 32, works a team of 50 with husband and top driver Pete McMullen.

Wisper A Secret capped a huge night for the stable where they had 13 runners across the feature race card.

“We had three (runners) in the Rising Sun and our filly (Aardie B Miki) won the South-East Oaks, too,” she said.

“She’ll go to the Queensland Oaks in two weeks, which looks like being very strong with Millwood Bliss and Very Pretty.”

The lone Queensland runner in last year’s inaugural TAB Eureka was Shannon Price’s Speak The Truth, who ran a terrific fifth.

Price is hoping for another runner this year with Sure Thing Captain, who isn't far off a racetrack return after a minor setback.

Wisper A Secret was so impressive winning The Rising Sun he shot up to seventh spot on the TAB Eureka Power Rankings.

The Queensland interest continues with Saturday night's $207,000 Group 2 The Hayden.

The key runners look to be Redcliffe Derby winner Ellis Street (gate two), the luckless but in-form For Real Life (five) and Grant Dixon’s underrated four-year-old Free Thinker (nine).