Canberra galloper Scarleo showed plenty of heart to hold off the challenges of Crackerjack Kenny and Highbury to win last Saturday’s Class 2 TAB Highway Handicap (1500m) at Rosehill.
The Keith Dryden-trained galloper, who carried equal top weight of 59 kilos, sat outside the leader until inside the final 200 metres, where jockey Nash Rawiller drove him to the lead.
He was immediately challenged by Highbury and the pair settled down to fight out the finish until Crackerjack Kenny flew late to make it a three-way photo.
The print showed Scarleo ($11) had held off Crackerjack Kenny to score by a nose.
“The horse was pretty strong at the end of it. He’s always shown me that, so I was confident,” said Dryden after the win.
“He did a good job. He lifted off the canvas and got to the line,” added Rawiller.
The trainer and jockey will link up again this Saturday with Handle the Truth scheduled to run at Randwick in preparation for The Kosciuszko, the $1 million race he won last year.
Gentleman prefers wet
The following day, Dryden will head to Cootamundra hoping to win the $27,000, Cootamundra Cup (1600m) with eight-year-old Gentleman Max.
Dryden only recently acquired the veteran of 125 starts after the gelding’s former trainer, Trevor Sutherland, was disqualified for three years on animal-welfare breaches. Sunday’s Cup will be Gentleman Max’s third start for Dryden.
“He’s gone super in two runs for me,” he said. “Jay (jockey Jay Ford) jumped off him the other day at Canterbury and was rapt with his effort.
“I’ve lightened off his training and he’s a happy horse.
“On his last two starts he’ll be a nice chance in the Cootamundra Cup.”
Any rain would certainly bring the galloper in to strong contention. Gentleman Max has never won in 62 starts on dry tracks, but on rain-affected going has 16 wins and 19 minor placings.
Idea matures
Trainer John Sargent is eyeing a return to metropolitan class for Get The Idea after the four-year-old brought up back-to-back wins in taking out the 1600-metre Woonona Handicap at Kembla Grange last Saturday.
“He’s a very promising horse and should graduate to stronger company,” Sargent said.
“He’ll move to the midweeks and Saturday grade in time and then we’ll see where we can get to from there. With his breeding, he should make a nice stayer.”
That the canny trainer has always had a high opinion of Get The Idea is demonstrated by the fact that he elected to start him in both the Group 1 Randwick Guineas and the Group 3 Frank Packer Plate last preparation, the galloper finishing 10th in both races.
“He’s always had a few chinks in his armour, being a bit green, but he’s finally grown up with a bit of age,” said Sargent.
Get The Idea has been ridden in both wins this preparation by three-kilo claiming apprentice Tyler Schiller.
Vet banned, Dunn fined
Northern NSW-based vet Kevin Squire has had his Racing NSW permit suspended for 12 months.
Stewards imposed the suspension at a hearing last Friday which Squire did not attend.
Squire was found guilty of having prescribed and dispensed a prohibited substance to a licensed trainer, and of failing to attend a stewards’ hearing when requested to do so.
His suspension will expire on September 25 next year.
Murwillumbah trainer Matthew Dunn has been fined $6000 and his galloper Rothenburg disqualified as the winner of the TAB Highway Handicap at Rosehill on Saturday June 27 over a positive swab to an inti-inflammatory.
Dunn told stewards the positive was the result of contamination inside the stable.
Battling in the bush
There was another blow to non-metro stables when last Saturday’s meeting at Kembla Grange had to be abandoned after the third race due to strong winds.
A swag of race meetings have been abandoned or curtailed in recent months, the vast majority of them in the country, leaving bush trainers battling to survive.
In recent months country trainers have had to contend with bushfires, floods, the coronavirus and the regular raids on country meetings by provincial and city trainers.
One trainer contacted me to suggest that additional meetings be added to the racing calendar or that additional races, restricted to country trainers, be added to country meetings already scheduled, in a bid to save the careers and livelihoods of many country racing participants.
Weekend wrap
Last Saturday’s main race at Gunnedah, the Manilla Cup (1600m), was won by Dubbo seven-year-old Pittsburgh ($18), trained by Garry Lunn and ridden by Billy Cray.
At the Gilgandra meeting, jockey Maddison Wright took the riding honours with a winning treble while at Narrandera, trainer Phil Sweeney and jockey Bradley Vale combined to win the first two races.
Last Sunday’s $39,000 Bathurst Cup (1800m) saw Canberra four-year-old Pecuniary Interest ($3.90), trained by Nick Olive and ridden by Ellen Hennessy, score a comfortable two-length win over Toulon Brook with Hamogany third.
On the same day at Port Macquarie, the George Woodward-trained Tom’s Knight ($5), ridden by Jeff Penza, couldn’t have been more impressive in recording a 4½-length win in the Cup Prelude (1812m) over Cogliere with Dew Drop in third place.
Cups coming up
This Friday at Moruya, the main race on the program will be the 1650-metre Bateman’s Bay Cup while is Cootamundra Cup day in the Riverina.