The consistent Gosford trained Orthie’s Boys is ready to notch up his fourth win in the 1500 metre Maitland Rugby Cup at Saturday’s Newcastle Jockey Club race meeting. Trainer Greg McFarlane has called on 1.5 kilogram claiming apprentice Mollie Fitzgerald to reunite with the five-year-old on Saturday.
The former Taree apprentice rode Orthie’s Boys to a two-length victory at Kembla three starts back on August 30 but has not ridden the gelding in his past two starts. The son of recently deceased champion sire So You Think, is an ‘on pacer’ and he raced outside the winner All Hunky Dory when beaten 1.15 lengths in this track on October 7. Two starts back Orthie’s Boys finished 1.74 lengths from the winner in a Randwick 1600 metre Midway after hitting the front 100 metres from home. He carried 60.5 kilograms at Newcastle last start and on Saturday he carries 3 kilograms less.
Two promising three-year-old fillies from high profile stables will travel to Newcastle to contest races in which they are well placed. The Arrowfield based training partnership of Paul Messara and Leah Gavranich will saddle up the lightly raced well bred Verity to be ridden by Christian Reith in the opening event the 1600 metres Huxley Hill Class 1 Handicap. The filly is a full sister to the trainer’s Country Championships Final and the Gosford The Coast winner, Know Thyself. She caught the eye with a fast finishing third in a 1280 metre Muswellbrook Maiden on October 6. Verity then stepped up to a 1500 metre Muswellbrook Maiden in her only other start on October 20 and she outclassed the opposition. The filly raced worse than midfield to the turn where she got to the outside and stormed home to win by 1.61 lengths running away. The daughter of The Autumn Sun will appreciate the tough Newcastle ‘mile’. Should she run well, Messara has eyes on the NJC Spring Stakes on The Hunter Day.
The Victorian training partnership of Mick Price and Michael Kent (Jnr) have a blue blood filly called Chisholm having her third race start in the 900 metre Newcastle Car And Truck Super Maiden Plate. She is a daughter of champion sire I Am Invincible and Group 1 winning sprinter Snitzerland and both her starts have been interstate. Chisholm debuted in November last year when runner up 1.25 lengths behind the smart Within The Law in a $500,000 Inglis 2-year-old at Flemington. Her second and only other start was at Morphettville in May when runner up as a $1.60 favourite. Chisholm is now based in the trainer Rosehill stables, and he displayed blistering speed to easily win a Warwick Farm trial, eased down late. Keagan Latham has been booked to ride the filly.
Trainers John O’Shea and Tom Charlton will apply blinkers to their Kiwi bred 3-year-old Three Arrows when he has his second race start at Newcastle in the 1300 metres Hunter Land Management Maiden Handicap. He was a short priced favourite on debut at Newcastle on October 18 when he sat outside the winner and went down by half a length. Three Arrows had good trial form prior to his first start, and he is another good mount for Keagan Latham.
Saturday’s race day is the last at Newcastle before the Group 2 $1 Million The Newcastle Herald Hunter race day on November 15. The NJC have pulled off a coup with Jon Stevens, former lead singer of Noiseworks, and INXS performing on stage after the last.