POETIC Ray’s maiden win may have been in the middle of winter on a wet and cold Sunday afternoon at Warrnambool, but trainer Mitch Freedman hopes the three-year-old will measure up to stronger company in the future.
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Freedman was excited with the effort of Poetic Ray and stablemate Miss Excess, who ran second in the 1400-metre race.
“Poetic Ray has just been a slow maturing horse,” he said. “I think the penny has just started to drop.
“He's still big and raw. He does a lot of things wrong but it's starting to come together.
“I think he may be a handy stayer in the future.”
The second placing by Miss Excess also pleased the Crossley trainer.
“She's been consistent,” Freedman said.
“She's an honest type of filly. We’ll find a nice maiden race for her in the future.”
Freedman is undecided about the short-term future of his stable star Greviste after a 10th placing over 1600 metres at Flemington.
“The race just never suited Greviste,” he said.
“Things just never panned out. It was a pretty good field. I think you’ll find that some good form comes out of that race.
“I'm not sure if we push ahead to run Greviste in the final of the three-year-old series in a fortnight or send him for a spell.”
Greviste has won more than $150,000 in stakemoney from nine starts.
SCOTT LAID UP
VETERAN Crossley trainer Quinton Scott’s absence from Warrnambool’s meeting on Sunday was noted by many of his friends.
Scott, who had two runners on the seven-race program, has been in Southwest Healthcare for the past week.
“I've been off-colour for a couple of weeks,” the Warrnambool Grand Annual Steeplechase-winning trainer said.
“There have run a lot of tests and scans to sort out the problems. The MRI scans and X-rays have came back all clear.
“They have been checking out my sugar levels as there are diabetics in my family.
“They do a great job here, but I just want to get home.”
Scott’s runners Bienvenido and Malan were both unplaced in a restricted race over 1100 metres on Sunday.
Rocky Affair won the Grand Annual Steeplechase for Scott in 1984.
TRIAL TIME
HIGHLY regarded steeplechasers Zed Em, Gold Medals, I’ll’ava’alf and Now And Zen are among a group of jumpers that will take part in trials at Warrnambool on Tuesday.
Seven trials are set down, with five being over hurdles while the other two are over fences.
Warrnambool Racing Club racecourse manager Daniel Lumsden said the steeple trials will be run in the paddocks.
“It'll be pretty heavy in the paddocks, but it will be safe,” he said. The first trial, a hurdle, starts at 11am.
SOLID START
WARRNAMBOOL trainer Daniel Bowman was pleased with the first-up performance of Aedesia in a maiden over 1200 metres on Sunday.
Aedesia, finished just more than two lengths behind the Jarrod McLean-trained Deecember in the $20,000 maiden.
“We've had her ready to run for six weeks, but bad barriers forced us to cancel those plans,” Bowman said.
“She hit the line well. The way she went I think she’ll run out a strong 1400 metres.”
Aedesia picked up $1600 in stakemoney for her connections with the third placing.
DOUGLAS SITS
TALENTED apprentice jumps jockey Clayton Douglas will miss the big meeting at Casterton this Saturday after pleading guilty to a careless riding charge at Pakenham on Sunday.
Douglas, riding Wish Come True, was found to have let his mount to shift in when not sufficiently clear of Tangara, which had to be checked.
His suspension started midnight on June 25 and ends July 5.
Stewards took into account his guilty plea and excellent record.
Wish Come True won the maiden hurdle over 3200 metres.
FOREST CHASE
LOOKS like a handy field of jumpers will be running in the $50,000 open steeplechase at Casterton this Saturday.
Tough performers Dormello Mo and Mannertone should head the weights.
But now, former champion jumps jockey David “Butch” Londregan has revealed his chaser King Of The Forest will run in the 3800-metre race.
Londregan said that King Of The Forest was an honest jumper. “He's not a top class jumper, but he's honest,” the four-time Warrnambool Grand Annual Steeplechase-winning jockey said.
“Apart from his last start at Ballarat, when he lost his rider, King Of The Forest has picked up a cheque at his prior 12 jumps starts.
“His performance to win run third in the Brierly Steeplechase on the opening day of this year's May Carnival was great.
“If he ran up to that form he's going to be hard to beat at Casterton.”
King Of The Forest has won two of his 22 jumps runs.
MOLONEY OUT
COLAC-BORN jockey Ryan Moloney was outed on a careless riding charge after his ride on Eureka Street at Geelong on Friday.
Stewards found that Moloney let Eureka Street shift out while being ridden along when not clear of Seul Spirit, which had to be checked.
Moloney’s suspension started midnight June 27 and ends midnight July 4.