Success contagious for Turnbulls

25 March 2021

FORMER Bathurst horseman Craig Turnbull has met with good success since relocating to Victoria where he now lives in Tatura in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley region.

Turnbull and his partner Bec Cartwright chose to leave The Lagoon with their daughter Abbey.
Following in her parent’s footsteps, Abbey is quickly making a name for herself as a talented driver winning her fair share of races, 37 in fact during the 2019/20 season.
The family has had very few regrets since making the move south, despite having enduring some setbacks along the way.
It was 12 years ago the Turnbulls were threatened by the Black Saturday Bushfires when they lived near Whittlesea.
And in more recent times, Turnbull sustained serious injuries after being kicked by a horse, leaving him hospitalised and on the sidelines for several months.
Turnbull is currently back home where he is enjoying catching up with his family, especially his father AD (Tony) Turnbull who recently celebrated his 91st birthday.
But the primary reason for his return to Bathurst is to have a crack at winning this Saturday night’s $100,000 Gold Crown with smart two-year-old, Masquerading (pictured inside) which is part owned by Bec.
The gelding has raced on three occasions and was a Shepparton winner back on February 10.
Ironically, in his two defeats, he has played second fiddle to Mister Reay, the horse that Turnbull fears most in this weekend’s Group 1 feature.
“Normally I would have been ecstatic to have drawn barrier two in such an important race and I was – until Mister Reay came up with gate one,” said Turnbull.
“All we can do is come out at the start and hope to land a prominent spot.
“One thing on our side is that our niece Amanda has stuck by us and will take the drive. She is so good at what she does and if anyone can overcome the odds, she will.
“I also brought Bruce Dumesny’s mare Life Gets Better up to try and win a Breeder’s bonus for him and I have her in a Young tonight.”
The four-year-old has struck a purple patch of form, winning at Cobram three runs ago and then again at Shepparton last start.
“I have Isobel Ross on her tonight and if she can find a spot just off the pace, I do expect her to go close.”