Rookie Bathurst trainer Angus Stewart ready to debut on the main stage
By Craig Kerry
With a love of horses and riding that started at a young age, Angus Stewart moved from his home in Hawkesbury to work for Bathurst trainer Dean Mirfin at just 14.
Now 21, he lives close to that racecourse and is Mirfin’s stable foreman and main track work rider.
“It’s basically my whole life,” Stewart said of racing.
Trainer Angus Stewart and Scopics.Credit: RacingPhotography.com.au
The goal, though, has always been to train horses himself, and Stewart will have an early highlight when Scopics becomes his first Saturday city runner at Randwick.
Scopics will be his fourth starter when he competes in the Highway Handicap.
With two thirds and a fourth so far with his five-horse team, Stewart is aiming for a special maiden win.
“It’s exciting,” Stewart said. “It definitely feels different [being the trainer], but I don’t feel too much pressure with it because it’s just Dean and me who own the horse, so there’s not too much expectation on him.
“Obviously, we both hope he runs really well, but I don’t have any owners that will be disappointed. I’m looking forward to having him down there.
“Having a Saturday runner is definitely a bit daunting, but I’m very excited.”
Second-up from a spell, Scopics was a $16 Sportsbet chance from gate two in the 1200m race after finishing fourth - but just three-quarters of a length away - when resuming on the Kensington track at a midweek meeting. Nash Rawiller again rides the five-year-old gelding, which has had five goes at Highway Handicaps for a best finish of second.
“He’s going really well,” Stewart said.
“He worked Tuesday morning out on the grass, he ran some pretty quick time and felt really good. He’s right on track to run a good race on Saturday, and I was lucky enough to get Nash back on him.
“He’s always shown us that he’s that Highway kind of quality horse, and obviously Highways are worth quite a bit, so it’s always been a goal to win one with him.
“He went to town three weeks ago and going into the race I was quietly confident that he was going to run really well, but it might work out well. If he won, he wouldn’t have been eligible for a Highway.
“He didn’t get the right run the other day, so it might all work out. But there’s a couple of handy ones in it. It’s probably not the easiest Highway.”
Beyond Saturday, Stewart is eyeing a third attempt to get Scopics into a Country Championships final.
“It’s always been the goal this prep to get him back to the Country Championship qualifier at Orange [February 28], so he’ll run on Saturday [and then have a freshen up,” he said.