Promising two-year-old Lethal Lady ($2.20 favourite on TAB) headlines some winning chances for Canberra trainer Norm Gardner at Moruya on Monday.
Lethal Lady has only raced three times for a debut win at Canberra in February followed by a third in the Black Opal Preview and a fifth in the $200,000 Black Opal.
Senior jockey Quayde Krogh will ride Lethal Lady from an outside barrier in gate ten.
Lathal Lady (Mathew Cahill) scores at Canberra. Image by Bradley Photographers
Gardner is looking forward to her return after a rest of five weeks following her initial racing campaign.
“She is a bigger and stronger filly and I’m really happy with how she is going,” he said.
“She had three runs as an early two-year-old and I thought it was best to give her a break and then bring her back.
“Her trial was good and she will be hard to beat. She could have drawn better, but we can’t do anything about that.”
Gardner also accepted with stable mate Ultragirl ($23) who may be saved for Narrandera’s Showcase meeting on Sunday 17 July.
The meeting offers record prizemoney of $250,000 with a $40,000 Cup. There are six two-year-olds on debut which always adds extra interest.
Atmospheric Rock ($2.50) was a solid second on debut behind Sister Moon as favourite at Moruya and will be well fancied in betting to go one place better.
Gardner will combine with stable apprentice Rochelle Wedrat-Kroezen with his three other runners – Delacour ($4.80), Stand Your Ground ($11) and Super Riff ($26).
Searching for her first career winner after 12 rides, Wedrat-Kroezen has her best opportunity to date with some of the horses she rides regularly in trackwork.
“I would love to see her get that first winner. She is very keen about her racing and with a bit more race experience she will keep improving with her riding,” Gardner said.
“Stand Your Ground likes the younger jockeys and if the speed is on she will be finishing hard because she will be back last like she always is.
“Delacour is first-up from a spell and has trialled well. She has a big weight (64kg) so with Rochelle’s claim she comes in with 60 kilograms.
“Super Riff is a bit of a thinker and sometimes doesn’t give 100 per cent. I have taken the blinkers off him and he should run better as his first-up effort was good.”
Meanwhile, apprentice jockey Anna Roper could add to her early riding record with winning opportunities aboard Cosmic Serenade ($2.50 fav), Look Only ($8.50) and Gorush Lightning ($8). Roper has ridden eight winners from her first 45 rides.
Cosmic Serenade and Gorush Lightning – the winner of eight races including four at Moruya – are both last start winners at Moruya.
Look Only is a first-up winner in the past and has also won and finished second twice in Sydney. She will race against Delacour in the Benchmark 74 (1010m) where the in-form Who But Roo is well placed to continue his run of success.
Who But Roo has won four of his nine starts and is unbeaten in his past three runs on country tracks.
– Racing NSW
