A rather quiet weekend ahead for the OTI team, which will kick off tonight at Cranbourne. The highlight of the weekend will be Vivy Air featuring in the Listed Anzac Day Stakes at Sandown and we also have a debut runner and a first Australian start to look forward to on Sunday.
Friday, April 28
Cranbourne
Current Track Rating: Good
Miss Subtly
Miss Subtly will look to bounce back to form tonight, in what appears a very suitable race on her home track. Despite her last start disappointment, Grahame Begg has been happy with the way she has done since that run and her best form would see her being hard to beat here.
Race 8 – 9:15pm | 1200m F&M BM64 | T: Grahame Begg | J: Tom Prebble 57kg | Barrier 4 | Saddlecloth 6
Saturday, April 29
Morphettville
Current Track Rating: Soft
Ashim
Ashim heads across to South Australia on Saturday, where he should get conditions to suit. He wasn’t able to let down on a very heavy surface at Terang last start, so a track in the soft range here will be much more to his liking. Down in the weights in a contest that doesn’t appear to have a whole lot of speed, it looks a nice set up for him on Saturday.
Race 2 – 12:22pm | 1600m BM72 | T: Tom Dabernig | J: John Allen 56.5kg | Barrier 8 | Saddlecloth 6
Sandown
Current Track Rating: Good
Vivy Air
To read more about Vivy Air’s chances, click here.
Race 5 – 1:55pm | 1400m Listed Anzac Day Stakes | T: Archie Alexander | J: Jye McNeil 56.5kg | Barrier 3 | Saddlecloth 8
Sunday, April 30
Grafton
Current Track Rating: Heavy
Introvert
Introvert is out to make it three wins in a row. He’s shown he has a future over staying journeys and the rise to 2200m looks most suitable. This is a tougher contest than his past two and he’ll lump the topweight, but we’re once again expecting a very competitive showing.
Race 1 – 12:36pm | 2200m BM58 | T: Matthew Dunn | J: Ashley Morgan 61.5kg | Barrier 7 | Saddlecloth 1
Nescaffier
Nescaffier is a colt we’re quite excited about. His breeding and physical characteristics suggest he’ll be much better suited out in trip with further maturity on his side, but he’s ready to make debut and we can see his class taking him a long way. We hold this colt in high regard and if he could impress on Sunday, he’ll be aimed towards the Group 1 JJ Atkins later this campaign.
Race 2 – 1:11pm | 1100m 2yo Handicap | T: Matthew Dunn | J: Brodie Loy 57.5kg | Barrier 7 | Saddlecloth 4
Goulburn
Current Track Rating: Good
Flashing Steel
Flashing Steel was close to breaking through again last start but gets another good opportunity here. He just looked to get a little bit lost when he hit the front the other day and doesn’t quite know how to put the race to bed. In this grade, we’d be hopeful he can be winning again to stake his claims for some better targets late in his three-year-old season.
Race 5 – 3:15pm | 1300m Class 1 | T: Annabel Neasham | J: Jet Stanley 60.5kg | Barrier 6 | Saddlecloth 2
Bendigo
Current Track Rating: Good
Mercian Hymn
Talented European import Mercian Hymn will make his Australian debut at Bendigo on Saturday. He has been a work in progress since arriving with Maddie Raymond, but she has put plenty of time into ironing out his quirks. A strong trial win on Monday suggests that he is heading in the right direction, so it will be most exciting to see him kick off his Australian career. We do expect him to improve with racing and out in trip, but class should take him a long way in Sunday’s contest.
Race 6 – 3:20pm | 1600m BM58 | T: Maddie Raymond | J: John Allen 64kg | Barrier 4 | Saddlecloth 1
Best of luck to all connections!