Home track is where Hey Porter's heart lies

QUEANBEYAN’S Hey Porter proved once again last Sunday that there’s no place like home after taking out the Benchmark 64 Handicap on Cup day.

A notoriously poor traveller throughout his time at Queanbeyan, Hey Porter has always shown plenty of quality on his hometown track.

On Sunday, the six-year-old edged out well regarded pre-race favourite Roman Alliance to take his record at Queanbeyan to six wins and five places from just 16 runs.

In contrast, Hey Porter has notched up just one win from 19 starts in Canberra and interstate.

“He’s one of those horses who leaves a fair bit on the truck whenever he has to travel anywhere,” trainer Darren Bailey said. “Even up to somewhere like Goulburn he gets himself into a bit of a state and just wastes a lot of energy he needs to race.

“As long as all he’s got to do is walk over the hill and down to the track, that’s his go.”

Hey Porter cost Bailey and fellow owner Brendan Comyn just $400 back in 2010 and has since gone on to earn nearly $80,000 in prize money.

But there seems little doubt his aversion to hitting the highway has cost his connections over the past two years.

Bailey however, said Hey Porter’s evident potential at Queanbeyan meant he was considering other options when it comes to taking the temperamental bay on the road.

“If we picked out the right race at somewhere like Wagga, we could take him down the week before and let him settle in beforehand,” he said. “I think that’d be the secret too him.”

Hey Porter’s next run will likely be in the Defence Force Cup at Queanbeyan on October 28 and despite his travel woes the Honours List gelding could be set to contest the remainder of the country cup season

“At the moment he’s probably got three or four runs up his sleeve so hopefully the right races will fall our way,” Bailey said. “The Cooma Cup and the Adaminaby Cup are coming up which could both be options but I don’t know yet if I’d want to take that tack with him.”