The Henry Dwyer Racing stable has three runners today with SURE STRATEGY at Moe and HONORABLE MENTION and UNDER OATH at Colac.
Moe – Good (4)
The track at Moe has been racing well in recent times with horses generally able to win from anywhere with the right run. It’s a tighter-turning track and building momentum before the home straight is important. The rail is out 3m having been true at the most recent meeting on January 20.
Race 3 (2.55pm) Old Sale Road Vet Newborough Cup
No.11 SURE STRATEGY – Daniel Moor (Barrier 1)
SURE STRATEGY heads to Moe today where she will contest a 1614m Maiden. She has drawn gate one and Daniel Moor will ride.
SURE STRATEGY comes into this off a seven-week freshen. She jumped-out just fairly leading into her first up run at Geelong where she was able to run third in a 1400m maiden, albeit beaten 5.5L against moderate opposition. She then went to Yarra Valley where she was vetted after a poor performance, but no issue was found. She has been back to the jump-outs at Geelong between runs and went quite nicely on speed through the first 850m of the heat before being eased out over the concluding stages.
Out to the mile, she should be able to use gate one to settle right on speed and that will ensure she has every possible chance in the run. If she is good enough, she should get her chance today.
TAB WIN Fixed Odds – $10 (as at 8am)
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Colac – Soft (5)
It’s Colac Cup Day and the rail is in the true position. The track has had a good break since its last meeting on December 19 and should be in reasonable condition. Colac is a unique track in that it is downhill around the home turn and into the straight and there are a number of horses that simply don’t handle the layout. The home straight is 350m long and any pattern is generally determined by how much rain has fallen or irrigation has been applied.
Race 5 (3.45pm) Colac Toyota BM64 Handicap
No.5 HONORABLE MENTION – Michael Poy (Barrier 2)
HONORABLE MENTION heads to Colac today where he will tackle a 1600m BM64. He has drawn gate two and Michael Poy will ride.
HONORABLE MENTION has the blinkers off and the visor on after running midfield at Geelong, albeit in a bunched finish. He had a nice, three-wide cart into that race at Geelong but it wasn’t really a race for the backmarkers with the leaders getting a soft time and dashing home in good splits, which adds some merit to HONORABLE MENTION’S performance. He got a long way back at Stawell before getting home in the 2nd best last 600m split of the meeting.
Michael can only use the whip five times as part of the Racing Victoria trial which will be interesting to see, however this is a suitable level of race for him and if he can get an economical run behind them and get a run at the right time, then he will be very competitive. Need to take him a little on trust given his tendancy to flop out of the barriers, but hopefully today he jumps with them and gives himself a chance.
TAB WIN Fixed Odds – $10 (as at 8am)
Race 7 (4.50pm) Australian Lamb Company Colac Gold Cup
No.8 UNDER OATH – Michael Poy (Barrier 2)
UNDER OATH also heads to Colac today where he will look to improve on his fifth in last year’s Colac Cup over 2000m. He has drawn gate two and Michael Poy will ride.
UNDER OATH had been tracking ok leading into the Great Western Cup last start where he was out to defend his crown and he had his chance when running third to PATCH ADAMS (who he meets again today). He should be at peak fitness now fourth up and will get a nice enough run in transit from gate two off what looks to be a hot speed.
He’s as fit as we will ever get him, he just needs to get himself into a position where he can win the race, sitting off the leaders and hopefully running over the top of them. A good chance, but as always with him we will just need a touch of luck.
TAB WIN Fixed Odds – $9.50 (as at 8am)