Eureka watch – Wisper A Secret

Fresh from the biggest win of her harness racing career, young Queensland trainer Chantal Turpin would love to ride her luck even further into the world’s richest harness race, the $2.1mil TAB Eureka.

Turpin combined with husband Pete McMullen and their talented four-year-old Wisper a Secret (Huntsville) for a powerhouse win in last Saturday night’s $350,000 Group 1 Rising Sun at Albion Park.

The four-year-old joined a short but elite Honour Roll of previous Rising Sun winners: Leap To Fame, Ladies In Red and Amazing Dream.

“It’s my fourth Group 1 win and certainly the biggest,” Turpin said. “We’ve had this guy since we broke him in, so it makes it extra special.

“It would be a dream to get into the TAB Eureka … hopefully some of the slot holders looking for a horse saw how well he went the other night.”

Although Wisper A Secret, who boasts 12 wins and seven placings from just 27 starts, is trained in Queensland he isn’t QBred, which rules him out of backing-up in Saturday night’s The Hayden – where the winner gets a golden ticket into the TAB Eureka.

“He’s still got another chance to push his case. There’s a 4YO Championship on Blacks A Fake night (July 27),” Turpin said.

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).

From The Eureka