Gary Harley – The last three spots in the $1 million Racing NSW Provincial-Midway Championship Final at Randwick on April 11th are up for grabs at the Newcastle Jockey Club race meeting tomorrow.
The 1400 metre Wild Card is the last of the qualifiers with all three placegetters progressing to the Final. The Wild Card favourite is the Rosehill trained Banjora, a very promising 4-year-old trained by Bryce Heys. He was $1.85 when TAB released markets on Friday.
Banjora has won three of his four starts and was a certainty beaten in his last start when third in the Gosford Qualifier on March 14th.
Zac Lloyd has ridden the gelding in his three wins at Rosehill and two at Gosford and the rising star in Australian racing’s Jockey Ranks will be in Newcastle to ride the favourite on Tuesday. Banjora normally races worse than midfield, but he is a powerful finisher and will relish the spacious Newcastle track and long straight.
Kris Lees has won five of the Series Finals and he will be represented in Tuesday’s Wild Card by second favourite Lord of Biscay and Imposant. Lord of Biscay caught the eye when he was slow to begin before storming home into third place, a length behind Buffalo in a Newcastle Qualifier on February 28th.
He has not raced for a month, but he is the highest rating galloper in the Series and his trainer is confident the 6-year-old will qualify for the Final. Dylan Gibbons has the mount on Lord of Biscay.
The latter finished runner up in the 2025 Final behind Matcha Latte. Lees blueblood filly Erin Jo resumes from a spell on Tuesday in the 1250 metre Highlander Central Coast Class 1 Handicap. A $700,000 yearling, she is raced by John Singleton and Erin Molan and is a daughter of champion sire, I Am Invincible and Lees 3-time Group 1 winner Lucia Valentina. She had three starts in her first preparation for a win at Warwick Farm in January and a placing on Randwick’s Kensington track in December. The 3-year-old has had two recent trials and was narrowly beaten in an open class barrier trial on the Beaumont track under no pressure.
Mister Martini was impressive for his maiden win on this track on March 6th and he will be hard to beat in the 1500 metre The Prince of Merewether Class 1 Handicap. Trained by the Hawkes family, the 3-year-old squeezed between others late in the race to win by half a length last start. First up at Canterbury on February 20th, Mister Martini found the 1250 too short when he came from near last to finish third. He steps up from 1400 to 1500 metres on Tuesday and the gelding will appreciate the longer trip. With Tyler Schiller in the saddle and an inside barrier, he is very well placed.
An important gear change may enhance Chris Waller’s 3-year-old Sarapo’s prospects in the opening event, the 1850 metre Davali Thoroughbreds Maiden Plate. The gelding should have finished closer when third, 1½ lengths from the winner at Hawkesbury on March 17th and the addition of blinkers first time may bring out the best in the son of Frankel.
Photo Credit : Bradley Photos