The Newcastle stand-alone meeting will be held this Saturday (13th Nov). The course proper was rated a Soft 5 on Thursday and with further showers in Newcastle leading up to the weekend, the meeting is likely to be held on a Soft track on raceday.
Paul Messara has a good strike rate when he brings horses to race in Sydney and he has another top contender in Ceasefire engaged in the Highway Handicap (Newcastle Race 3, 1300m). After finishing back in the field from a wide gate in The Kosciuszko, Ceasefire ran a close 2nd to Brave Enough in a Highway Handicap last start. With Dylan Gibbons’ 3kg claim, Ceasefire will only be carrying 55.5kg. Nicely drawn in barrier 6, Gibbons will settle just behind the leaders and Ceasefire will prove to be too strong in the run home.
Kiss The Bride is all set for victory in the inaugural running of ‘The Beauford’ (Newcastle Race 6, 2300m). The in-form Bjorn Baker stable has the 6YO gelding going well and he was only beaten a length last start by the latest weight-for-age star Think It Over in the Rosehill Cup. Kiss The Bride can handle any track conditions and he has drawn beautifully in barrier 5. He is rock hard fit and is ready to step up to 2300m. Rachel King has a good record combining with Baker’s stable and King is going to settle one off one back with a cozy run. Kiss The Bride will be given every chance to take out The Beauford.
Top weight Lost And Running is a class horse and he is obviously the horse to beat in The Hunter (Newcastle Race 8, 1300m). This John O’Shea-trained 5YO has shown his quality finishing a great 4th in The Everest two starts back behind the world best sprinter Nature Strip. And the gelding finished 2nd when he chased home Eduardo in the Classique Legend Stakes last start, where he was racing wide but still sprinted 32.94 secs for his last 600m. Lost And Running has good wet track form and champion hoop Hugh Bowman will be on board on Saturday. Barrier 17 is not ideal but there are a lot of backmarkers drawing inside him so it’s likely Bowman will go forward and settle just behind the pace. Lost And Running will be too classy for this field.
By Owens Wong, Editor
