Green bypasses Mackay Cup with Top Spy

By Glenn Davis

With his stable flag bearer Master Jamie roaming a Toowoomba paddock in retirement, Rockhampton trainer Graeme Green is hoping Top Spy can be his next star.

Top Spy chases her third straight win in the 2024 Northern Winter Carnival series for fillies and mares when she lines up in the Belle Of Whitsunday over 1560 metres at Mackay on Saturday.

The five-year-old won the Belle Of Capricornia on her home track at Rockhampton on July 12 before taking out the Belle Of The Burdekin in Townsville last month.

Top Spy lumped 62.5kgs with Justin Huxtable in the saddle in the Belle Of The Burdekin and received a 2.5kgs penalty for the win, taking her weight to 65kgs in her bid for the “triple crown”.

“In my eyes, it’s the unofficial triple crown series for fillies and mares and she’ll be my Rockhampton and Mackay Cup horse next year,” Green said.

“She’s a big strong mare so she’ll carry the weight on Saturday.

“She was very strong to the line when she won in Townsville and it’s a very fast track, so she was vulnerable to any of the light weights.”

Top Spy has been a great money spinner for connections winning almost $208,000 in prize money with six wins and seven placings from 18 starts.

“She was bred by her owners Helen and Tony Yeates who have around nine horses in work with me,” Green said.

“She was sucking air early in her career, but she had an operation to fix that, and she’s now got a bright future.”

Green gave serious thought to starting Top Spy in what would have been her open company debut in the Mackay Cup over 2000 metres.

However, her owners made the call to target the Belle Of Whitsunday on Monday when they looked unlikely to make the Mackay Cup field.

Green retired Master Jamie after the eight-year-old just missed out on claiming his third straight Rockhampton Cup last month when the gelding finished second to the Aiden Nunn-trained Hype.

“I dropped off Master Jamie at Toowoomba last week and he’ll be doing a lot of dressage and show jumping now,” Green said.