Peter Lafferty sets sights on Nifty win

This Wednesday, at the revamped two-day Warrnambool Carnival, Lafferty will be trying to win the race named after Wilson.

Lafferty saddles up the lightly raced Predicated, with his daughter talented apprentice jockey Laura riding the four-year-old in the $36,000 restricted race over 1700 metres.

"I dearly want Predicated to win the race," the quietly spoken Lafferty said.

"We've set the horse for the race. Nifty was a champion jockey and is a great bloke. He did a lot for local racing over the years and sadly some people forget his deeds. The race to acknowledge Nifty has been in place for a few years and I've always wanted a horse good enough to win it and I've got my fingers crossed Predicated can do it on Wednesday.

"Nifty's great mate Geoff Daffy passed away in February. Geoff was a wonderful friend to many of us. He was a top trainer and a great bloke. It would be lovely if we could win the race with Predicated as we would dedicate the win to Geoff."

Predicated won a spot in the Neville Wilson Series final with a second placing in a heat at Terang last month. From his 13 starts for the Lafferty stable, Predicated has won three races and notched up seven minor placings.

Meanwhile, Lafferty played down the victory of Sivar in a maiden plate at Horsham on Saturday.

Sivar, having only his eighth race start, defeated Trading Stock and She Zed So in the $20,000 maiden over 1800 metres.

"We put the blinkers on Sivar and they did the trick," Lafferty said.

"He's been slow maturing and I'm just hoping the penny is starting to drop with him. His three runs with the blinkers on have resulted in a first, second and third placing. I've always liked the look of Sivar. I saw him at the yearling sales in Melbourne and he was passed in.

"Colin Chandler broke him in as a yearling for Andy Calvert who owned him. I asked Colin about the horse and he thought it was still for sale, so I phoned Andy and purchased him."

Sivar had run two minor placings before his victory on Saturday.

"We may look at running Sivar in the Mahogany Series with the final in town," Lafferty said. "The series is for three-year-olds. With a bit of time Sivar could develop into a handy stayer."

Sivar collected $11,300 in prizemoney for his maiden win. The victory takes his stake earnings to more than $18,500.

DECLAN Bates can still ride at the Warrnambool Cup meeting on Wednesday, despite pleading guilty to a careless riding charge at Bendigo on Sunday,

Bates has been booked to ride the Lindsey Smith-trained Too Close The Sun in the $225,000 Warrnambool Cup. The careless riding charge related to Bates' ride on Hanaki Warrior. Stewards found that, near the 1200m, Bates permitted Hanaki Warrior to shift in when insufficiently clear of Grey Khan, resulting in that horse clipping the heels of Hanaki Warrior (NZ) and blundering.

The Warrnambool-based jockey starts his suspension at midnight May 6 and expires midnight May 14. Stewards deemed the incident to be in the mid range and took into account his guilty plea and good record.

TOP jumps trainer Eric Musgrove rates Bit Of A Lad as the forgotten runner in the Warrnambool Grand Annual Steeplechase on Tuesday.

Musgrove, who won the Grand Annual in 2001 and 2002 with Hibernian Prince, said Bit Of A Lad may upstage his highly rated stablemate Ablaze and veteran star jumper Zed Em.

"The Annual is only a small field but is a tough race," the veteran trainer said. "I think everyone is focused on Ablaze, Zed Em and Gold Medals. They will be hard to beat, but I've got a feeling that Bit Of A Lad may cause an upset.

"He ran fourth in the Annual last year and is trained by Ciaron Maher who has won the race four times. Ablaze looks hard to beat. He's the up and coming jumper. He's won his three jumps starts looks to have a bright future. Obviously, Zed Em is a big chance. His record is outstanding and he's trained by a master jumps trainer in Patrick Payne and Gold Medals has a great chance."

Musgrove doesn't have a runner in the Grand Annual, but he has runners in the other jumps features on the opening day of the two day meeting.

JOCKEY Christine Puls will be on the sidelines following her ride on Beetwengynine for seven meetings after pleading guilty to a careless riding charge at Horsham on Saturday. The charge related to an incident near the 1100 metre mark.

Stewards found Puls allowed her mount to shift in when insufficiently clear of Resetting Edge, which had to be checked. Her suspension started Saturday night and ends midnight May 8. Stewards took into account her guilty plea, excellent record and deemed the incident to be in the low range.