The HDR stable has three runners today in BRUNGLE BERTIE, STRATESSA and MOSCOW RED at WARRNAMBOOL.
Warrnambool – Heavy (10)
By the end of Wednesday the track was into the Heavy 10 range and with rain forecast on Thursday it seems it will only get worse. They started to ease away form the fence late on Wednesday and I suspect the will continue to head towards the outside rail throughout the final day of the Carnival. The key will be fitness and an ability to handle rain affected tracks.(Form Analyst Matt Welsh)
RACE 1 (11:15am) Hammonds Paints Champion Novice Hurdle 3200m
No.1 BRUNGLE BERTIE– Lee Horner (Barrier 3)
BRUNGLE BERTIE (3) heads to Warrnambool on Thursday, where he will tackle the 3200m Champion Novice Hurdel (Race 1, 11:15am). He has drawn gate three and Lee Horner will ride.
All is set for BRUNGLE BERTIE to head today to Warrnambool in a reasonably small field. He comes up against many of the runners he beat at Pakenham last start and few from the maiden hurdle on the same day. There will be significant speed in the race from ROLAND GARROS, so with Lee Horner retaining the ride from last start, we will adopt the same tactics of sitting just in behind the speed before letting down to the line with his genuine staying prowess.(Stable)
TAB WIN Fixed Odds – $2.40 (as at 11am)
RACE 4 (12:45pm) Catanach’s Jewellers F&M BM70 Handicap 1400m
No.9 STRATESSA– Will Price (Barrier 2)
STRATESSA (2) heads to Warrnambool on Thursday, where she will contest a 1400m BM70 (Race 4, 12:45pm). She has drawn gate two and Will Price will ride.
STRATESSA is flying in weaker grade and she deserves this crack in stronger company. She is a mare who has run well on wet tracks in the past and the 1400m is her pet trip. She ran a very good second to Finesse Tess on a Heavy track at Ballarat back in May last year and she has run well in town on very wet tracks in the past. She overcame a chequered passage to win at Kyneton last time out and that performance rated well enough to see her most competitive here should she repeat the dose. Like the little jump-out she had at Terang between runs where she wasn’t asked for much effort late and with even luck from a tricky low draw she should be somewhere in the finish.(Form Analyst Matt Welsh)
STRATESSA looks a picture of health coming into this run on a very rain effected track. With the track now being a heavy 10 it may be a little to wet but she does relish the sting out of the ground so with luck she should be on the speed. There is some good horses around us, but she performs well at the track and distance so the team are confident. (Stable)
TAB WIN Fixed Odds – $7 (as at 11am)
RACE 6 (1:50pm) Evergreen Turf Neville Wilson Series Final 1700m
No.11 MOSCOW RED– Will Price (Barrier 1)
MOSCOW RED (1) heads to Warrnambool on Thursday where she will contest a 1700m BM 70 (Race 6, 1:50pm). She has drawn gate one and Will Price will ride.
MOSCOW RED loves these sorts of conditions. She has been just fair in three runs this campaign but they have all been on firmer ground and I suspect she is set to peak now, fourth-up getting up to 1700m. She is yet to win at Warrnambool but she has run well in this race previously, including a narrow defeat back in 2019. The inside draw is a trick as she will likely get back and it’s hard to see hard against the rail being the place to be come race six, so Will Price might need to look at easing away form the fence at some stage coming towards the home bend. If she can bring her best wet track form then she can certainly be competitive.(Form Analyst Matt Welsh)
MOSCOW RED steps out fourth up here today at Warrnambool on a serverely rain effected track. The step up in distance to 1700m really looks to suit her and with the sting out of the ground MOSCOW RED comes into the race more then the market represents. The team are really happy with how she is progressing in this preperation and believe she can run a good race here. (Stable)
TAB WIN Fixed Odds – $20 (as at 11am)