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Trainer John Sargent hopes he’s won the battle with promising mare Treize and she can take a step toward bigger things at Rosehill on Saturday.
Early maturity issues meant Treize has trialled more than she's raced and the latest issue Sargent had to deal with was a stone bruise that set her back after an impressive first-up win.
Now that's behind her Sargent is confident the four-year-old can reward her patient owners and be a force in the Midway Handicap (1350m).
"She's had a few niggly things but hopefully we can get her on a run now because she's quite talented,'' Sargent said.
"I had to drop to 1000m at Gosford and I thought it would be a bit short for her but she ran well.
"I had a plan to get to some weaker black type races and we still might be able to do that if she carries on through the grades. We'll tick along slowly and take it race by race."
There's no shortage of options for a progressive horse like Treize, $5 with TAB on Friday, if she does knock over a Midway and she is also eligible for the rich Polytrack Provincial-Midway Championships series which offers a $1 million Final in April.
She led all the way to win first-up over 1250m on the Kensington track and as Sargent mentioned it was another six weeks until she reappeared in a 1000m dash at Gosford where she found Oceans One too speedy.
With the 3kg claim for Sargent's apprentice Molly Bourke, Treize gets in with 52.5kg.
"It looks a nice race for her at the weights. She should be up and over and slot in somewhere on the speed,'' Sargent said.
"She gives her best, she won her maiden very well at Kembla Grange and won well first-up at Kenso. She's not a big mare, but she's got a big heart and she's a trier."
Bourke's 3kg claim is a big plus in itself for Treize but she's also the mare's regular trackwork rider.
"Molly is very dedicated and is so keen to learn and ride more,'' Sargent said.
"It's a big help when a jockey knows a horse, Molly gallops her every day and knows her like the back of her hand.
"She was very happy with her work on Tuesday and hopefully she can front up and pull it off."
Meanwhile, The Coast and Five Diamonds Prelude winner Palmetto will trial at Randwick on Thursday as the start of his autumn campaign nears.
