The Henry Dwyer Racing stable has two runners today with STAR OF MANHATTAN and STRATESSA running at Bendigo.
Bendigo – Soft (5)
The track is rated a Soft 5 after 5mm of rainfall over the past 24 hours. There doesn’t appear to be any more rain on the radar but with a cold day forecast we may not see an upgrade. Bendigo has been racing fairly of late and there’s no reason to think it won’t today with the rail back to the true position.
Race 2 (1.20pm) Smartline Finance 3YO Fillies Maiden
No.9 STAR OF MANHATTAN – Craig Williams (Barrier 5)
STAR OF MANHATTAN heads to Bendigo today where she will tackle an 1100m 3YO Fillies Maiden. She has drawn gate five and Craig Williams will ride.
STAR OF MANHATTAN heads to the racetrack for the second time having turned in a very strong debut at Kilmore. She got home in the 5th best last 400 and best last 200m split of the entire meeting to run second, displaying a good deal of ability. They ran almost six lengths quicker than the other 1100m maiden on the day which bodes well for the form out of the race. She draws well in gate five and we have booked Craig Williams so have a class jockey onboard.
It looks a strong race on paper with three or four main chances, but if STAR OF MANHATTAN runs up to her last start and gets some luck in running, she will certainly be fighting out the finish today.
TAB WIN Fixed Odds – $3.90 (as at 8am)
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Race 8 (5.05pm) Budget Bendigo Car Truck Rental F&M BM 70
No.10 STRATESSA – Ben Allen (Barrier 5)
STRATESSA also heads to Bendigo on Wednesday where she will contest a 1300m Fillies and Mares BM70. She has drawn gate five and Ben Allen will ride.
STRATESSA has had eleven-weeks between runs leading into this and she’s a mare that always sprints well fresh, including a fresh win at Hamilton last campaign. She was given a solid test in a recent Cranbourne trial where she wasn’t asked to do much, but she wasn’t wearing the blinkers that she will carry on raceday. The key to her win at Hamilton was a strong tempo up front which she will get today and gate five is ideal as it will keep her off the fence and ensure clean running.
If she can replicate her rating from Hamilton it will at least see her competitive, but she probably does prefer a bit more sting out of the ground and will get that later this campaign. She will be in the back half of the field and be running on late, today might be a bit short for her first-up and more hoping to see her finish off strongly.
TAB WIN Fixed Odds – $23 (as at 8am)