Trainer eyes dual assault on Stakes
SPREYTON trainer Leanne Gaffney will take a twopronged attack into tonight’s $150,000 Alfa Gold Sovereign Stakes in Le Cadeau and laststart maiden winner Blushed.
Gaffney says Blushed is lightly raced and still learning, while Le Cadeau is the more experienced and comes off a sixth to the talented Gee Gee Josie in the Listed $100,000 Elwick Stakes in Launceston last month.
Blushed came from near last to win her maiden at Elwick on what was the first race on the new $12.5 million StrathAyr track.
“Blushed produced a terrific effort to win in Hobart coming from near last and I have no doubt she has improved since that run,” Gaffney said.
“Blushed is only lightly raced and is still learning what it’s all about, but she definitely wants to be a racehorse.
“Le Cadeau is a bit special because he won the first twoyear-old race of the season and he won the Alfa Bowl two starts later and was probably a victim of circumstances in the Elwick Stakes when caught wide throughout the race.
“There’s not much between my two and I will be happy if either of them won.”
The Stuart Gandy-trained Gee Gee Josie has been the most consistent of the juveniles this season and her laststart win in the $100,000 Elwick Stakes in Launceston three weeks ago was her best effort.
If the daughter of Wordsmith-Josie’s Double can mirror that effort she will make her presence felt at the business end of proceedings. Interstate invader Jyoti (Akeed Mofeed-She Can Skate) is the interesting runner in the field of 12.
The South Australian filly from the Tony and Calvin McEvoy stable won at Morphettville on debut in a 2YO maiden over 1050m and she followed up at her only other start with a second of seven to Mileva at Murray Bridge over 1000m.
Jamie Kah makes the trip from Melbourne to ride the filly.
The other two interstate runners are the David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig-trained Avenue of Pleasure (Jason Maskiell) which has been unplaced at her only two starts, but they were on metropolitan Melbourne tracks. And Matthew Brown will saddle up his unraced filly Excelsior Dawn.
The other feature is the Night Cup over 2100m which will be the last outing for some Launceston Cup candidates, including Speed Force, Settler’s Stone and White Hawk. Speed Force has top weight of 60.5kg while the balance of the field of 10 will carry the minimum of 54kg.