Wagga, Taree previews: Donna Scott gets back to work with the exciting Daze Off

Exciting mare Daze Off returns to Wagga on Monday to repeat her impressive debut win at the venue and stake a long-term claim to a Country Championships tilt.

Trainer Donna Scott saddles up Daze Off at Wagga on Monday.

Exciting Albury-housed mare Daze Off can retain her unbeaten tag and herald her future Country Championship ambitions should she perform to expectation when she makes her return trip to Wagga on Monday.

The Donna Scott-trained four-year-old was an impressive trial winner at Corowa 11-days prior to her popular debut win at Wagga over 1200m after touching $1.55 at one stage of betting.

“She is still quite green and I said to the owners it might have been the only thing that may play against her, being her first start, ‘’ Scott said.

“She didn’t get around the corner too well and she over-raced a little bit so she still has got a bit to learn.

“We knew it wasn’t overly strong race but you’ve still got to beat what’s there in front of you and she did that well enough.’’

Daze Off gets the job done on debut, in Race 1 at Wagga. pic.twitter.com/qm2csvsZXo

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) August 11, 2024

While the venue is the same come Monday, the distance is different this time around with 200m shaved off.

“I am not sure she is a genuine 1000m and there are a couple of 1000m horses in it so we will just have to see what comes on Monday,’’ Scott said.

“I just didn’t want to leave it too long in between runs. It would have been a month and there is a race at Canberra in a couple of weeks otherwise we would have had to trial her because she is a big-doing mare.’’

Daze Off was a member of the 14th crop sired by five times Group 1 winner Starcraft whose majors included the 2004 AJC Derby as well as the world acclaimed Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Prix Du Moulin at Longchamp.

Scott’s next best chance of starting the week off with a win comes in the final race on the Wagga card where the tough and reliable gelding Tiszo Fab takes up again after a seven-week break from racing.

“He has done nothing wrong but that’s a handy little race on Monday,’’ Scott says.

“That thing of Craig Weeding’s (Make It Sweet), they’ve got a fair opinion of.

“It is just about the run that he (Tizso Fab) gets in transit.

“There doesn’t look to be a huge amount of speed and Amy (O’Driscoll) might be able to get a nice little suck run in front again.’’

Scott’s third runner at Wagga is Comanche North who turned in by far the best run of his current campaign 15-days ago at Wagga when a close third under his crushing weight of 61.5kg.

“I think it just told on him at the end,’’ Scott said. “He is not an overly big horse.

“We changed some things at home with him and he was much improved.

“I think he’s a little bit over the odds on Monday.

“He gets in his right grade and if he can bring that form again he mightn’t be far away.

“As I said, he seems to be in a happy place at the minute and hopefully we have found the little key to him.’’

Comanche North boasts a fascinating pedigree. The Victorian-bred bay has a three-by-three double cross of 1985 Golden Slipper winner Rory’s Jester via Miss Prospect (the dam of Blue Diamond Stakes winner Reward For Effort) and secondly via Happy Giggle who won the Maribyrnong Trial, Maribyrnong Plate and Merson Cooper at his first three starts.

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Prosser impressed with Vilified

Trainer Colt Prosser has reason to be excited about what’s in store in the coming weeks and months as he prepares to welcome the first foals of his one-time resident racehorse and now stud stallion, Vilified.

Vilified’s sire Press Statement won the 2015 Caulfield Guineas while his dam, Sin Sin Sin, won the 2008 Wellington Boot on debut.

That said, Sin Sin Sin is best known as the mother of 2019 Everest winner and current Randwick 1200m course record holder Yes Yes Yes.

Vilified served 14 mares in his first season at stud including granddaughters of Danehill, Rory’s Jester and Lonhro as well Jade’s Destiny, a close relation to the Taree-bred, Hong Kong idol Silent Witness.

“The mares are nice and fat, I just went and fed them all,” Prosser said. “It’s an exciting time of the year, springtime, the grass is green after a bit of rain and a few mares are ready to drop.

“I think we’ve got about 20 mares ready for him this season which is great.’’

Prosser will take his studmaster’s hat off on Monday with a busy day ahead at Taree starting off in the opener where the lightly-raced Billybago aims to build on his first-up third at Tuncurry on August 9.

“He is a nice big horse,’’ Prosser says.

“He’s probably going to get over a little bit more of a trip when he matures and learns more about it.

“He just does a few things wrong. He just wants to over-race a little bit but he is a horse with a little bit of talent for sure.’’

Interestingly, Billybago’s third dam Rinky Dink won the 2004 SAJC Australasian Oaks.

His stablemate and Taree participant Calamity Fox’s fourth dam Centaurea won the same classic in 1985 thanks to a masterful ride by the legendary Lester Piggott.

Calamity Fox has been stationed with Prosser at Wauchope for the last three of his 22 career starts, culminating – for now – in a Moree win on August 8.

“He’s going well,’’ the trainer reported.

“He is just a question mark at the mile but we thought we would just give him a go while he’s going good.

“He won really well last start and I think he will run the trip.’’

Prosser’s remaining runners on the card are Little Prophet and Skates On who are both forecast to run well.

Originally published as Wagga, Taree previews: Donna Scott gets back to work with the exciting Daze Off