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Craig Widdison enjoyed two very pleasing days in NSW on Sunday and Monday, winning a feature race and watching on as two up-and-coming horses made winning returns to the track.

Racing at Cowra on Sunday, the talented Doogan’s Design was resuming from a spell in the $32,000 Cowra Japan Cup (1200m).

It was a 700km roundtrip for the team with just one galloper, but the five-year-old Master Of Design mare was a class above her rivals in Cowra’s feature sprint.

Ridden superbly by Brendan Ward, Doogan’s Design ($8.50) was taken to the front and made every post a winner, triumphing by more than a length from the Andrew Bourke-trained Lang Park (James Innes Jnr, $7) and the Toby Pracey-trained Feirme Prince (Clayton Gallagher, $8).

Raced by Peter Beaton, Doogan’s Design has now won four from 12 and looks like a very handy sprinter.

The following day, Widdison only had to make the short trip across the border to Albury, racing Baggage Handler, who was first-up since July.

Following good trials at Albury and Corowa late last year, Baggage Handler was crunched in from $2.30 to $1.65 in the 1000m Benchmark 58 Handicap.

The four-year-old Squasmosa gelding didn’t disappoint punters either, with Nick Souquet driving to the front and from there, it was a one-act affair as Baggage Handler held on for a comfortable one-and-a-half length win from the Ben Brisbourne-trained Antisocial (Lachlan King, $5.50) while three lengths away in third was the Peter Maher-trained Ima Guru (Brendan Ward, $51).  

Widdison joked that it was long overdue when asked about his successful two days.

“It’s much better than how we’ve been going, so hopefully things are turning,” Widdison laughed.

The enigmatic Baggage Handler won the $50,000 Super Maiden at Wagga in late 2023 and has always shown ability, and Widdison was happy to see his galloper’s scintillating speed on show at Albury.

“We’ve seen him before, really charge early, and I think he was a bit better again today, and I think he’ll get there,” Widdison said.

“I was rapt with that and thought he did what he had to do, and he’ll take a heap of benefit out of that.”

Widdison was pleased for his owners, Snow Road Thoroughbreds, who also race The Prodigal Son with the Wodonga stable.

“Greg McNulty is a fantastic bloke; he’s president of Benalla Turf Club, and Greg has supported me all the way along since I’ve been back in the area,” Widdison said.

“He does nothing but kick up for me everywhere he can, and he has about four horses with me on his own, let alone shares he’s got with the Wylie Dalziel team, so it’s fantastic, and he deserves all the success he gets.”

Baggage Handler looks above average, and Nick Souquet quickly praised Widdison’s team for getting the enigmatic galloper ready to race.

“He went well today, and it was more of a relief to see him do that,” Souquet said.

“He could always do it, but at trackwork, he is a very difficult horse to ride, and Craig’s foreman (Kip Rieck) is the most brilliant horseman, and she got him going around.

“He is a real handful, and she seems to get along with him so well and looks after him, and she did all the groundwork on him and got him going to where he is today.”

Widdison Racing has hit the ground running in 2025, landing three winners in just over two weeks.

At Wodonga on January 5, Majestic Reward made a winning debut in the 1100m Maiden Plate.

With Brendan Ward in the saddle, the 40/1 outsider held off all challengers to score a very nice one-and-a-half length victory for connections.

Words: Jeff Hanson
Image: Racing Photography