3 minute read
Sapphire Coast’s lone resident trainer, Barb Joseph is invariably the lady to beat but when Theresa Bateup regularly invades from Kembla, she rarely misses and they have compelling numbers and form throughout Friday’s capacity TAB meeting.
While the region missed the deluge of other NSW areas and the track is rated mid-range soft, Barb and racing locals are on the alert with rain forecast from Thursday through Saturday.
And nobody has a firmer grip on how Sapphire Coast will play for eight races than the five-decade training great.
"We've been around soft five at trackwork, but the tip is rain coming, it's been raining on our farm up at Bombala so likely headed here," offered Barb, the first female trainer to win a Doncaster in 1989 with Merimbula Bay, the bay a sprint course from where she lives.
Inside barriers and on-pace runners are the prerequisite for tight and turning Sapphire and even more so if the rain comes.
A notable early scratching is Joe Cleary's noted wet tracker Girls Are Ready who would have started favourite in race five but placed at Canterbury Park on Wednesday with James McDonald.
"I left her in at Sapphire in case Canterbury was rained out," explained Joe who has live chances with Gerry Harvey's Pruscino ($3.20 favourite on TAB) and King Gutho ($2.40 fav) in the opening races.
Meanwhile, Barb with her training sons Paul and Matt Jones was typically upbeat.
"We'll be competitive all day, probably Sir Finn ($5 equal fav) is our best, but I reckon Mookarena ($12) will run a race at odds, she's fitter three runs from a spell, drawn inside, on the limit and handles the going if it rains.
"Sir Finn put two nice wins together, ran well in a harder race at Wellington, drawn inside. Quayde [Krogh] is on him, underrated rider, rode Room Number when it won at Randwick at big odds.
"We've got Mr Aloysius ($5 eq fav) in the same race, he's going great, but he's drawn 16 in a big field."
Mookareena contests the ITI BM 74 (1600m) and Sir Finn and Mr Aloysius a Lawrence & Hanson, Pambula BM58 (1400m).
Bateup's best looks to be Eberlee ($5.50) in the third event off two Goulburn placings and proven wet form.
At present Sapphire Coast is rated a soft 5 with rain forecast.
