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Kris Lees has nine runners at Saturday’s stand-alone meeting on his home track – and considers Grande Rumore is the pick of the bunch.
The lightly-raced former English mare lines up in the Benchmark 78 Handicap (1400m), and Hugh Bowman will ride her.
Grande Rumore , after a win and several placings in her native country, was successful at her Australian debut over 1200m at Canterbury in April.
Bowman partnered the now five-year-old mare then, but hasn't ridden her in four subsequent starts.
"Grande Rumore didn't stretch out on a Soft 7 over 1600m at Warwick Farm last month," Lees said.
"But she is back to 1400m on a better surface and against her own sex, and has drawn the inside barrier.
"I'm expecting her to be hard to beat."
Lees has taken a cross-over nose band off Grande Rumore, and instead she will wear ear muffs pre-race.
Melbourne Cup winning jockey James McDonald is a new rider for Loch Eagle in the Group 3 Spring Stakes (1600m) at Saturday's meeting.
The Lonhro colt, who has been runner-up at his only two starts to date at Hawkesbury (October 10) and Royal Randwick on Melbourne Cup day, is the trainer's sole representative in this year's renewal.
He won Newcastle Jockey Club's feature event for three-year-olds with Invincible Gem when it was staged at Randwick in February, 2017.
Lees withdrew Loch Eagle from a Canterbury Park engagement tomorrow night to have a crack at the Spring Stakes.
"He is going up in class obviously, but I don't feel it is the strongest Spring Stakes and believe he is up to this level," he said.
. Lees has recent Australian Bloodstock purchase Strange Charm in two races when the night racing season kicks off at Canterbury, and is yet to decide in which race she will run.
The former Anthony Cummings-trained mare, a winner twice at the track, is in the Benchmark 72 Handicap (1250m) and also a 1200m Benchmark 72 against her own sex, where she is second emergency.
Tim Clark has been booked for the 1250m event, and Hugh Bowman for the latter race.
"I'll wait until the morning and see what both the scratchings and track condition are before making a decision," Lees said.
"Strange Charm probably needs a bit further than the distance of either race, but is coming up nicely and easily won a 1000m trial on the Beaumont track late last month."
Juventus, racing at Port Macquarie today, will come out of the Benchmark 72 (1250m), but Lees will run Loch Lomond (Bowman).
Loch Lomond, a Provincial Championships heat placegetter at Gosford in autumn, has been improved by two runs this preparation.
. Lees is sending Wardaddy, who was an acceptor at the abandoned Hawkesbury meeting yesterday, to his Gold Coast base this evening to run at Doomben on Saturday.
He has booked apprentice Kyle Wilson-Taylor, who rode well to score on stablemate Continuation at Eagle Farm last Saturday, in the 3YO Handicap (1200m).
Wardaddy, an impressive debut winner over 1000m at Taree in June on heavy ground, was narrowly beaten on resumption over 1010m at Port Macquarie on October 24.
