Dubbo previews: All roads lead to Dubbo for Damien Lane with three live chances

Coonamble born and bred Damien Lane heads west from Wyong to Dubbo on Tuesday with three great winning chances all of them to be ridden by his gun apprentice Anna Roper

Trainer Damien Lane has three strong chances at Dubbo on Tuesday

TRAINER Damien Lane won’t be looking for any excuses to pass the time on the home-leg of his almost 10-hour trip from Wyong to Dubbo if one, or all, of his west-bound trio are beaten on Tuesday.

Lane won’t need any directions to and from Dubbo having been born and raised a few country miles away in Coonamble.

Lane’s current tally of winners at the two tracks is 19 apiece but all things being equal that should tip Dubbo’s way via one or more of the stablemates Jamakin Money, She’s A Bad Girl and La Pelago be successful.

“They’ve all found their right races for sure,’’ Lane told The Daily Telegraph.

FIELDS AND FORM DUBBO ON TUESDAY

She’s A Bad Girl is Lane’s participant in the unofficial feature, the Inland Petroleum Class 1 Handicap (1200m), which also serves as one of the diminishing number of heats remaining in the Rising Star Series set aside for apprentice jockeys.

She’s A Bad Girl will be ridden by one of the state’s best, namely Lane’s own apprentice, Anna Roper.

“Anna is just starting to get running again,’’ Lane says. “She had quite a frustrating run with injuries lately but she is back on track now. She rode four winners at the Gosford meeting they held at Port Macquarie the other day. She’s been riding winners everywhere.”

Roper has ridden She’s A Bad Girl five times for two placings as well as the mare’s only win in her career total of 24 starts.

“Two run back here at Dubbo, she stumbled out of the gates and got back further than we wanted but she hit the line good,’’ Lane said.

“And then she ran third to her stablemate, Sneaky Sofia, at Port the other day and that was a pretty strong race.

Jamakin Money scoring at Wyong last year Picture: Bradley Photos

“She draws a good gate with Anna on in an apprentice-only race on Tuesday, there will be plenty of speed on, and she should just get a gun run in behind them somewhere.”

And while her winning strike-rate is poor, a win on Tuesday will see She’s A Bad Girl’s earnings reach $100,000, a hefty return on her paid $10,000 HTBA Yearling Sale invoice.

Speaking of ‘money’, Lane’s intriguingly-bred mare Jamakin Money, can add to her current balance of $53,250 should she convert a favourable set of circumstances into a win in the opener.

The (now rare) daughter of a Danehill mare makes her country racing debut on Tuesday having campaigned exclusively at the provincials in her six starts including her honourable first-up sixth at Wyong on New Year’s Eve.

“She is just a bit bigger and stronger mare this time in and I just think she needed the run to be honest,’’ Lane said.

“Obviously she trialled up really good and I was probably a little bit soft on her between the trial and the first-up run.

“She should improve second-up and she definitely seems to have struck the right race.”

The third and final Lane/Roper runner at Dubbo is the Gerry Harvey bred, La Pelago, which takes her place in the Barastoc Stablemate Class 1 Handicap over 1000m.

“She just had a little bit of a mishap recently,’’ Lane reported.

“She went to Dubbo, I think it was the last meeting there, and got scratched. She twisted a shoe in the tie-ups and was a bit lame after it so she did miss a run and she is a big, gross mare.

“It’s not ideal her going so long between runs but we have done as much as we can with her at home and she has a soft draw so she gets every chance.”

Originally published as Dubbo previews: All roads lead to Dubbo for Damien Lane with three live chances