Conners’ trio ready for battle
Fresh from producing Willaidow for a strong victory at Rosehill last weekend, Marc Conners will take a trio of runners to Randwick, hopeful of continuing the stable’s Saturday metropolitan success.
It will be Conners’ largest representation for some time and he says his three runners – Rebel Rama, Danish Prince and Winning Verse – are all going well and capable of surprising.
“They’re probably a bit wider in the market than Willaidow was, but in saying that they’re all horses that are in the right races and there to do something on Saturday,” Conners said.
Conners’ originally had a squad of four to take to Randwick but has scratched two-year-old Shezasiren from the opening race.
Rebel Rama drops back to benchmark grade after finishing midfield in the Listed January Cup, won in track record time by Naval College.
While she excels on rain-affected ground, which she won’t get on Saturday, Conners is happy she is in a good space.
His only reservation is another wide draw in barrier 10.
“The race last start, they don’t run that fast,” Conners said.
“I’m sure it upset a lot of the horses and I don’t think she ran badly. She finished seventh and she didn’t drop off, she held her ground, so I was happy enough with her run.
“She drops back to a benchmark 88 now, which is probably where she needs to be at the moment.
“I just wish she’s drawn a barrier. We keep drawing bad barriers and that forces us to go back so we’ll have to decide what we do Saturday.”
Danish Prince contests the Toyota Forklifts Handicap (1200m) after resuming with a tough effort from a wide gate at Rosehill and he has only missed a top-three finish once in five second-up runs.
But it is the stable’s final runner, Winning Verse, who Conners regards as his leading chance after a fighting first-up effort at Rosehill.
“It was the first time we’d run her over 1200-metres first-up, they ran pretty fast time and at the 75-metre mark she was still in front,” Conners said.
“With that solid run under her belt, she is going to improve lengths.”
More Racing News
Dan Morton keeps faith with 2024 Railway Stakes mare
Trainer Dan Morton has shrugged aside Super Smink’s horror barrier draw and still thinks she can win the Group 1 Swan Draught-Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot on Saturday. A layer of complexity was added to Super Smink’s Railway Stakes bid after she was handed barrier 18, but Dan Morton is keeping the...
Timing right for Port Lockroy in G1 Railway Stakes bid
He’s one of five interstate raiders and the outsider of the quintet, but co-trainer, Rob Archibald believes there is a sense of timing about Port Lockroy in Saturday’s Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot. Rob Archibald, who shares training duties with Annabel Neasham, says Port Lockroy put himself into Railway Stakes...
Royal task for Gilded Water at local debut
A benchmark race on The Gong undercard will add some Royal flavour to the stand-alone Kembla Grange meeting when a horse owned by His Majesty King Charles III makes his local debut. Four-year-old Gilded Water has been sent to Australia to continue his racing career, having started just four times in the...
Jason Collett hoping to find Express lane in The Gong
Jason Collett is resigned to the fact that he will be more reliant on luck than good management as he tries to coax another win out of Territory Express in the $1 million The Gong at Kembla Grange. The Provincial-Midway Championships Final victor in the autumn, Territory Express has a get-back racing pattern...
Improving trio to fly flag for Godolphin at Kembla Grange
Godolphin doesn’t have a representative in The Gong, but James Cummings is content to rely on a trio of up-and-coming sprinters to carry the stable’s hopes at the stand-alone Kembla Grange meeting. Fleetwood will headline the leading yard’s squad when he resumes in the Group 3 The Warra (1000m), while Pisanello and Restonica contest benchmark...
Mark Walker aims for ‘new’ hometown Cranbourne Cup
Trainer Mark Walker has a good record when in form New Zealand gallopers land in Australia. Walker’s latest ‘import’ is It’s A Wild Night who will have his first Australian outing in the Listed Cranbourne Cup (1600m) on Saturday. It’s A Wild Night arrived at Walker’s Cranbourne base just over a week ago...
Trainer Gavin Bedggood chasing Fortune in The Meteorite
Gavin Bedggood hopes the decision to take Oscar’s Fortune to Cranbourne for a midweek gallop will pay off handsomely on Saturday. Oscar’s Fortune runs in the $1 million The Meteorite (1200m), a new ‘slot race’ that Southside Racing, a merged entity of the Cranbourne and Pakenham Clubs, runs for the first time. The former...
Railway Stakes 2024 timing perfect for Baker’s Bel
In-form mare Belclare will need to overcome a wide alley to land her first Australian Group One win in the Railway Stakes at Ascot, and connections believe Nash Rawiller is the perfect man for the job. A two-time victor at the highest level in New Zealand, Belclare joined the Sydney stable of Bjorn...
John Stewart eyes Melbourne with 2024 Japan Cup fancy
Goliath faces one of the toughest tasks in racing this weekend, beating the Japanese at home in their biggest race, but John Stewart is already planning his next moves with his star recruit and Australia is on the itinerary. The ambitious American has quickly become a powerful investor in Australian racing and...
Hedged poised to give The Warra rivals a trim-up
The Magic Millions carnival is the campaign focal point for promising sprinter Hedged, but trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr are hoping he can knock off a feature race along the way. The gelding will resume in the Group 3 The Warra (1000m) at Kembla Grange on Saturday, his first start...
