SHE was there to help out Amanda Turnbull last year when a border closure kept her in Victoria and come this Sunday night, Isobel Ross will be there to do a job for the The Lagoon trainer once more.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ross will be aiming for glory in two of Tamworth's annual features - the Golden Guitar Final and the Tamworth City Cup.
A Queensland native, Ross had spent two years helping Turnbull with her team prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She then returned to her home state and was there for six months before she got a call from Turnbull.
"She rang from Melbourne and said that 'Things are getting pretty hectic at home and I sort of need someone to help out again'. So I came back ... now I can call New South Wales home," Ross said.
"I've worked for quite a few big stables and you learn from everyone you work with. Amanda's always got really nice horses, which is a bonus."
One of those "really nice horses" is Gotta Party Doll. Together they won the Group 3 Red Ochre Fillies and Mares Classic in Dubbo just prior to Christmas and on Sunday night Ross will chase success in the Tamworth City Cup (2,360 metres) with her.
The seven-year-old mare will be looking to add to the Parkes Cup and Temora Pacer Cup victories she notched up in her two most recent starts.
Ross will steer her from barrier seven in the feature, her rivals including Mat Rue's Oberon Cup winner Fouroeight.
"She's such a good girl. We're really proud of this horse, she's come back from an injury we didn't think she'd back from and I couldn't have asked anything more from her than the job she's done," Ross said.
"I'll be honest, it's not an ideal barrier for her, I would've rather drawn anywhere but seven because she is a horse that likes to go forward and get amongst them.
"She likes being driven tough, the tougher that you drive her, the better she goes."
Gotta Party Doll will likely rank amongst the favourites, but when it comes to Ross' drive in the Golden Guitar Final (1,980m) with Life Of Brian, she knows it will be tougher. He will go from barrier five.
"I have driven him before at home and he's quite a tough horse, but he's only a one-paced horse," she said.
"From that barrier we'll have to try and go forward and dictate it for him because he likes when the speed is on and he can do his own thing.
"It's a very, very nice field and there are a lot of good horses in it. I got to drive in it last year with another one of Amanda's, she's always been good putting me on when she can."
Life Of Brian qualified for the final by placing second in his heat with Turnbull in the gig, that effort coming after wins at Goulburn and Temora.
His rivals in the decider include stable-mate and heat winner Balducci and Jarrod Alchin's My Ultimate Star, who won the Star Maker Final at Tamworth last year.
The Tamworth Cup Cup will go at 7.28pm and the Golden Guitar Final at 8.02pm.
