TOWN CRIER roars back to life!

An established ‘on-pacer’, the 6yo gelding switched to the role of backmarker in the 1000m Open Handicap at Eagle Farm on Saturday and came with a booming finish to defeat seasoned stakes class sprinter CIFRADO by three-quarters of a length.

“Who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?!” exclaimed trainer Matt Hoysted post-race.

“We led two starts ago and he didn’t finish off so I just wanted to shorten him up, keep him nice and fresh at this sort of trip and see if he could finish off.

“After how poorly he went two back we needed to go back to the drawing board.

“He was racing in career best form this preparation at his first couple of runs before he ran poorly.

“He can sometimes have a think about things and that’s why we thought we would ride him quiet and give him something to chase.

“Credit to Jake (Bayliss), it was a well-judged ride.”

TOWN CRIER’s eight wins to date now have him equal with PRINCE OF BOOM as the most prolific winning progeny of SPIRIT OF BOOM, who sadly died from a ruptured bowel only three months ago at Eureka Stud.

With Saturday’s change of tactics proving to be a masterstroke, there could well be more to come from TOWN CRIER as he approaches the back end of his career.

A $160,000 Magic Millions yearling from Emirates Park, TOWN CRIER has taken his total earnings to $362,850 from 27 trips to the races.

He becomes Proven Thoroughbreds’ second winner for the 2026-27 season which commenced on August 1.