Trainer Les Ross looking for change of luck with River Racer in Gold Coast Guineas
TRAINER Les Ross is looking for a change of luck with River Racer when she runs in the Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas tomorrow.
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TRAINER Les Ross is looking for a change of luck with River Racer when she runs in the Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas tomorrow.
River Racer ran her sixth second in a 12-race career when beaten a nose by Guineas rival Tiyatrolani at Doomben in the Listed Mick Dittman Plate two weeks ago.
It was also the fourth time she had picked up minor prizemoney in a stakes race, including a second to Winning Rupert in the Vo Rogue Plate in December.
River Racer lines up in the Guineas with jockey Robbie Fradd to resume
his association with the filly after being sidelined with injury.
“Most people thought she had won at Doomben last time,” Ross said.
“It about sums up my luck of late. I have been having a long run of outs when everything is running second.”
Although River Racer has won only one race, she has $261,000 prizemoney to her credit and Ross hopes she can press on to the Queensland Guineas on June 10.
Silk Stocking (1200m)
TRAINER Stuart Kendrick hopes to convert his best season to date into more black-type winners starting with Divine Centuri at the Gold Coast tomorrow.
Kendrick brought up his 70th winner for the season last week and is second on the Queensland premiership behind Tony Gollan.
He has gradually built up a top team including Divine Centuri who gets the chance to score her second stakes win in Listed Silk Stocking (1200m) tomorrow.
Kendrick has always had a huge opinion of the now four-year-old mare whose career has been dogged by injury.
“She has had two knee operations which is why she is relatively lightly raced,” the Sunshine Coast trainer said.
“She looked like being top flight when she won the Mick Dittman Plate against a top field last year.
“She was so impressive that we entered her for the Doomben 10,000.
“We really thought she had a chance because it was a year when the field was small.
“But she went wrong and we had to scratch her.”
Kendrick trained in Brisbane in the early 1990s before returning to his north Queensland home.
“When the government turned the northern race circuit into a TAB one we decided to go back to Mackay for a few years,” Kendrick said.
“I had a good filly named Doubtfilly who ran fourth in the Golden Slipper and we decided to give her every chance by coming back to the Brisbane area.”
That was four years ago and Kendrick has since trained more than 300 winners from his Sunshine Coast stable.
Hollindale Stakes (1800m)
JOCKEY Josh Oliver’s bond with tough mare Col ‘N’ Lil has earned him a shot at the biggest win of his career at the Gold Coast.
Oliver, who has ridden around 110 winners since coming to Toowoomba from New Zealand about 16 months ago, has been entrusted with the ride on Col ‘N’ Lil in the Group 2 Hollindale Stakes (1800m).
He was apprenticed to Col ‘N’ Lil’s trainer Ben Currie who has stuck by him since he came out of his time four months ago.
Oliver and Col ‘N’ Lil combined to share victory with Jumbo Prince in the Listed Weetwood Handicap at Toowoomba on April 8.
Last time out Col ‘N’ Lil ran second, half a length behind Group 1 winner Single Gaze in the Tails Quality (1600m) at Doomben.
“I think Josh has ridden Col ‘N’Lil six times for two wins and two seconds. He knows her and she goes well for him so why change,” Currie said.
“Col ‘N’Lil has been great for us as she has got black type and has been to Sydney. She is honest and deserves a shot at better races.” The mare is likely to press on to the Group-class staying races during the winter carnival.
Oliver will have three other rides for Currie tomorrow including improving mare Kuznetsova in the Prime Minister’s Cup.
“This is a harder race for her but she has been good lately and we are after black type for her,” Oliver said.
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