Trainer-jockey combo Kris Lees and Dylan Gibbons aiming to strike again in final Sydney meeting of year at Randwick
Kris Lees and apprentice Dylan Gibbons have enjoyed a big month together as they aim to finish the year on a winning note at Randwick on Saturday.
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Kris Lees will call upon his star pupil Dylan Gibbons to help cap off a massive month for the trainer-apprentice duo at Royal Randwick this Saturday.
Lees and Gibbons combined for their biggest ever win together when Loch Eagle won the $2m Group 2 The Ingham at the same venue earlier this month.
Gibbons will ride all four of Lees’ runners with Powerful Peg, Bubba’s Bay, Ella Te Ama and Baltic Coast all ready to run big races.
Lees nominated Powerful Peg as his best chance on the final Sydney Saturday meeting of the year.
Powerful Peg has built an impressive record with six victories and four placings from 14 starts with two of those wins coming last preparation.
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Lees is hopeful the Rubick mare can snare some black-type this preparation ahead of her return in the Toyota Forklifts Benchmark 78 Handicap (1200m).
“She will improve off the run but I have liked her trials so it wouldn’t surprise me to see her run a bold race first-up,” Lees said.
“I think she is more forward then she was first up last preparation but she is racing in a higher grade too.
“Whether she needs a little bit further than 1200m, I am not sure.
“It’s a good time of year for her, just before the better ones get in and hopefully she get some fitness under her belt before some better races come around at the start of the carnival.”
Lees had similar stakes aspirations for Bubba’s Bay while a trip north for the Magic Millions carnival is also an option for the mare.
Bubba’s Bay had an excellent first preparation under Lees’ care after making the switch from Ross McConville during the autumn.
The daughter of Cable Bay won three times in six starts and went for a break in August following back-to-back successes at Eagle Farm and Doomben.
Bubba’s Bay ($7) will attempt to complete a winning hat-trick in the Schweppes Benchmark 78 Handicap (1100m).
“Bubba’s Bay is a nice mare, it’s whether she can get across from the gate (barrier eight),” Lees said.
“She put together a couple of nice wins in Queensland last preparation and has come back in good order.
“She is starting off in a stronger company then what she went out in so that’s always a bit of a reservation but I am happy to see where she is at.
“She will have some nominations at the Magic Millions but would have to be impressive on Saturday to warrant going up there with her.”
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Ella Te Ama ($34) is yet to win first-up in her career but has had two trials in preparation for her return in the TAB Benchmark 78 Handicap (1400m).
“It will be a touch short of her best but she is another one that has come up well and seems to have trialled well,” Lees said.
“She is in a good space and like the other two, they all have improvement but they’ve got to start somewhere.”
Lees’ day kicks off with Baltic Coast ($14) as he returns to town after a luckless run in the Nowra Cup last start.
Baltic Coast raced without a lot of room in the Big Dance qualifier, won by Floating, who he will take on again in the Chandon Garden Spritz Benchmark 78 Handicap (1600m).
“It was a bit messy and nothing really went right there at Nowra,” Lees said.
“He was good at Kembla. He is one of those older horses that doesn’t win out of turn but in a smallish field, if he gets the right run, he can react well.”
Lees and Gibbons will combine again on New Year’s Day with Brudenell set to chase a black-type breakthrough in the Listed Canterbury Sprint (1200m).
Brudenell was an excellent winner at Randwick last start but his task has been made harder this time after drawing barrier 11 of 11 on January 1.
“Brudenell’s draw has got to be a concern but there is a lot of pressure there and he has raced well at Canterbury before,” Lees said.
“He drew wide when he raced well that day, albeit in inferior company, but he’s in good order.”
Originally published as Trainer-jockey combo Kris Lees and Dylan Gibbons aiming to strike again in final Sydney meeting of year at Randwick
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