Trainer Jason Warren keen to put aside unlucky Oakleigh Plate run in Newmarket Handicap at Flemington
A luckless outing in the Oakleigh Plate could become a distant memory for Mornington trainer Jason Warren after Benedetta competes in Saturday’s Group 1 Newmarket Handicap at Flemington.
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The wide open spaces of the Flemington straight could ease one fear for Benedetta’s trainer Jason Warren in Saturday’s Group 1 Newmarket Handicap.
Benedetta was backed from $10 to $7.50 but the Oakleigh Plate again proved a bogey race for Warren when the mare never got a clear crack at the leaders in straight.
Benedetta finished less than two lengths from the quinella, Queman and Hypothetical.
But Warren again lamented a lack of luck after fortune went against smart sprinters Bel Sprinter and Brooklyn Hustle in previous editions of the Oakleigh Plate.
READ | Newmarket Handicap nominations: Private Eye a doubtful runner
“I was hoping it would be third time lucky but she only got out with 50m to go,” Warren said.
“She was steaming to the line as well as anything in the race.
“The horse that ran third held us up for the entire length of the straight pretty much only held its ground. She’s come through her Oakleigh Plate run really well and worked really well on Saturday.”
QUEMAN FIGHTS IT OUT IN THE OAKLEIGH PLATE! 😱
— 7HorseRacing 🎠(@7horseracing) February 24, 2024
SHANE AND CASSIE OXLADE CLAIM THEIR FIRST GROUP 1!@HTCoffeypic.twitter.com/oxaC7RCHFw
Warren said before the Oakleigh Plate that the race would provide the perfect springboard into the Newmarket Handicap second-up.
The wider Flemington straight was also likely to take luck out of the equation for Benedetta.
Winning the Newmarket Handicap will depend on whether Benedetta is good enough to beat star sprinter Imperatriz with the aid of a significant weight pull.
“She was going to the line solidly but she meets a much stronger field in the Newmarket but she gets in well at the weights and she’s better second-up,” Warren said.
“She’s probably better at Flemington than she was at Caulfield and I think she probably gets her chance.
“I thought she would have lost no admirers with the (Oakleigh Plate) run and I’m looking forward to at least having a good run at this race on Saturday.”
Benedetta is one of 22 Newmarket Handicap nominations.
Multiple Group 1 winner Imperatriz is the highest rated runner on 119 ahead of Lightning Stakes runner-up Private Eye on 115.
Handicapper ratings would leave Imperatriz to carry 58kg in the Newmarket, the same weight as Private Eye after the mares’ 2kg allowance is factored in.
Originally published as Trainer Jason Warren keen to put aside unlucky Oakleigh Plate run in Newmarket Handicap at Flemington
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