She picked up an early Christmas present with a winner at Orange last week and now Towac Park-based trainer Alison Smith will head to Wellington on Wednesday, hoping her chance can stand up to a Boxing Day test.
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After watching Supreme Gem secure her maiden victory last Monday, Smith is set to unleash one brand new runner on Wellington Race Club’s five race, Boxing Day, non-TAB meeting.
Smith will debut another Mosayter progeny in Saahirah, a five-year-old mare from the same father that produced her star sprinters Absolute Ripper and Missy Rhythmos.
She’ll jump from the wide gate in barrier eight in the 800-metre Maiden Plate, the second of the afternoon, and will carry 57kg, although Bathurst hoop Ashleigh Stanley’s three-kilogram claim as an apprentice will help that load.
Saahirah has been in work for some time and Stanley’s no stranger to the mare, having piloted her to third in her only trial run so far, at Orange on November 23.
She finished three-and-a-half lengths behind Kathryn Cahill’s Dictation, which one has career win to its name, and two lengths behind another of her own runners in three-year-old Vaquero, which is also yet to make its debut.
Although clearly raw, Saahirah ran well that day and led for the majority of the 1000-metre open trial, at the 200-mark she looked likely to kick on and claim a victory but faded somewhat to finish third.
In the end she was overrun by Dictation and Vaquero and, as a result, the slight drop in distance back to 800 should suit the mare on Wednesday afternoon.
Kim McGovern’s Dollar Dandy is set to carry to top weight of 59kg in the Maiden Plate and is resuming, while home track hopes Mochine Gun and Unomore, from Garry McCarney’s stable, will also be first-up after spells.
Parkes’ Sharon Jeffries has a debutant in the race as well in Fasfer, while Dubbo’s Justin Stanley is hoping Alexandra Demure, a relative veteran in this field with 16 career starts, can finally post her first win.
She’s finished in the minor placings five times in her career and two of those have come in second-up runs, which is promising considering she goes into the race with just one run so far this preparation – a fourth finish at Warren.
Racing starts at Wellington at 2.08pm, which Smith’s debutant jumping at 2.43pm in the second.
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Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
