Casino, Goulburn previews: Trainer Colt Prosser overcomes Mid-North Coast floods and sets his sights on prestigious double

Mid-north coast trainer Colt Prosser is back in business after the devastating rain bomb that his the area last week and takes aim at Casino’s feature races.

Colt Prosser with Bjorn Ironside one of his two Casino Flying contenders Picture: Bradley Photos

Wauchope trainer Colt Prosser has spent the best part of last week cleaning up after the devastating floods on the Mid-North Coast.

Now, he will be hoping for a clean sweep of Casino’s two big annual features.

Wauchope is an hour’s drive from Taree and while that essentially makes the two towns neighbours, Taree was more or less ground zero for the big weather event.

“It was not too bad, just a lot of flooded stables,” Prosser said.

“Safety-wise we were all good. The town coped a lot and went under and everyone was isolated.

“It was a big weekend on the tools and the wheelbarrow and shovels but we’ll be okay, a lot of people did it a lot worse than us.”

Cenotes makes it three wins in a row 3️⃣

He wins easily at Kempsey and gives Ben Looker a double!@ColtProsserpic.twitter.com/UCU67h1f67

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) September 19, 2024

Prosser’s Beef Week Cup participant, Cenotes, will tackle the $45,000 1400m feature first-up having last been seen on October 11 when down the order in the Port Macquarie Cup.

This will be only his second ‘Cup’ but certainly not the last, according to Prosser.

“Cenotes is going to be in for a nice campaign,” the trainer said.

“He is going to be in all the Country Cups around the corner.

“He is first-up and he’s just been ineffective at anything under a mile so if he can run good race, I’ll be happy.

“I expect him just to improve with a run under his belt.”

Cenotes will be ridden by Country Championship Final winning jockey Ben Looker who boasts a favourable record on the son of Rebel Dane of three wins and a second from six rides.

Looker was also Prosser’s choice for Bjorn Ironside who will square off with stablemate, Dis Is Heaven, in the Casino Flying over 1000m.

Bjorn Ironside’s current personal best was his close and closing third in this season’s MNC Championship Qualifier over 1200m but his one and only 1000m test was hard to forget, even for Prosser.

Bjorn Ironside and @ashmorgan6 sail down the centre of the course to take out Race 7 at @_TJCpic.twitter.com/Hz7LVU1eiq

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 21, 2024

“He’s only had one go at 1000m and he smashed them,” the trainer said.

“This is up in grade and he hasn’t had a run since he went to Brisbane but I brought him home and he’s freshened-up good.”

Dis is Heaven, meanwhile, will be taking a step back in class when he steps out in the Casino co-feature.

That’s because his last run was at the midweeks where he finished third in the 1000m Benchmark 72, $60,000 affair.

“He’s going great and he doesn’t mind a soft track,” said Prosser.

“I just would have liked to draw a little bit better at Casino with him but he can be a run-on horse so if they happened to be put a bit on pressure on, he can relax and finish off.

“I was really disappointed I couldn’t go back to Sydney with last week when we were flooded in, I couldn’t get there.

“He hasn’t had too many dramas. He’s nice and fit and he’s going well.”

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Former jockey, now Hawkesbury-based trainer Blake Ryan is hoping the well-bred two-year-old Nothing But Net can pull of a slam dunk on debut at Goulburn

Nothing But Net was one of 138 foals to emerge from the first crop of ATC Sires’ Produce and Champagne Stakes winner, King’s Legacy.

His grandam is Georgette Silk whose single win came on debut in the 2020 ATC Widden Stakes.

“He has always shown me a little bit,” Ryan said.

“He was in our Ready 2 Run draft and he breezed up the quickest of the lot but was passed in.

“He went online and when the client sold him, Matthew (Sandblom) bought him and gave him back to me to train.

“He seems to be a horse that a 1000m isn’t going to be his go. He is bred to be a 1400m horse so he is going to improve.”

Asuriito was always in control under James Innes Jnr and he brings up his second win in as many starts for the @blakeryan86 stable 👏@moruyaracespic.twitter.com/GuydevYtk8

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) September 17, 2024

Nothing But Net won’t be alone on the trip to Goulburn.

He’ll be accompanied by another blue blood, namely Asuriito, who lines-up in the Pat Murphy Racing Class 2 Handicap (1000m).

A son of Brazen Beau, Asuriito, went to the Sapphire Coast on May 4 armed with an impressive record of two wins and a third from five starts.

And while costly in defeat for his many supporters, he left Bega with excuses.

“That track was very, very heavy and gluey,” Ryan said.

“On paper its says it was a Soft 7 but the grass was very long and it was very boggy. That, coupled with the weight, made it hard for him.

“He is an honest little campaigner. He had a tough run at Canberra before that but he keeps bouncing out of it, I’ll give him that much.

“I would have liked to have a little bit better but only that dog-leg corner there at Goulburn from the 1000m, it shouldn’t be too much of a hassle for him.”

Granted, Ryan’s immediate focus is on Goulburn but once he’s done there, he will be in countdown mode to Saturday’s Midway Handicap at Rosehill where he is represented by the always reliable Lady Extreme.

“I’m really happy with her. “I think she is going as well as she has ever gone,” Ryan said.

“And a heavy track wouldn’t bother me. She’s a duck.”