LATE STARTER GETS THE JOB DONE AGAIN

THURSDAY: May 7, 2026: BRAD Widdup had never met Ralph Tierney until he bought a yearling the South Coast builder had bred.

That was at the 2021 Inglis HTBA sale when he secured Tintookie for $30,000.

The Winning Rupert mare went on to win five races (three of them at Royal Randwick), and earned nearly $500,000 prizemoney.

Sadly she broke down in the Birthday Card Stakes at Rosehill Gardens on Golden Slipper day two years ago, and was euthanased.

The leading Hawkesbury trainer’s purchase of Tintookie earned him two more horses from Tierney, both half-sisters from the Canny Lad mare Nunya Bizz (who died last August) – and at least one of them might be a cut above the ordinary.

The unusually named Like A Surgeon remarkably didn’t begin racing until this season as a five-year-old, and is now unbeaten from two starts.

Like A Surgeon came from well back to score at good odds over 900m at Newcastle last November, and followed up by scoring in the Midway Benchmark 64 Handicap (1000m) at Wyong today.

A well supported $3.10 favorite and with Rachel King aboard, Like A Surgeon edged out fellow Hawkesbury trainer Fabio Martino’s Spartus ($9).

“Like A Surgeon (also by Winning Rupert) and three-year-old filly Mind Ya Bizz (by Heroic Valour and placed twice from four starts to date) are closely related to Tintookie,” Widdup said this evening.

“I trialled Like A Surgeon twice at Warwick Farm in 2023, but she went shin sore and she went back to Ralph.

“For a while there I didn’t think she was coming back until he eventually returned her to me last year.

“She is a real trier, and that was a good effort to win today.

“We’ll look for another suitable race in the coming weeks to see if we can get a hat-trick with her.”

Like A Surgeon was Widdup’s 49^th winner this season – and his sixth from his last 13 starters.

Like A Surgeon is her late dam’s first foal, and Nunya Bizz missed twice to Winning Rupert and Charge Forward before foaling Mind Ya Bizz.

Whilst Widdup obviously was pleased to get another win with the late starter, he pondered what might have been at Wyong.

Stablemate Satono Jasmine ($15 after much bigger odds were bet) was an unlucky third in the Maiden Handicap (1350m) at only her second start and first since December.

The RacingNSW stewards’ report told the story, detailing how her rider Chad Schofield became very unbalanced when the filly shifted out at the start and bumped heavily with another runner.

She then became badly held up for clear room after passing the 200m and, as a result, went to the finish without being tested.