Trainer has high hopes for his duo at Bathurst

DROPPING back horses from Highway races to county events is a good formula and local trainer Dean Mirfin is hoping it works at Bathurst today.

Mirfin lines up Tale Of The Kraut and Skipper Joe in the final two races on the card and both are improvers off good runs in town last start.

Tale Of The Kraut surprised most punters when sent out at $101 in a 1200m Highway race when having her first race start for Mirfin after being transferred from the Danny Parsons stable.

She ran third behind the very promising Princess Cordelia last start at Rosehill.

The new surroundings at Bathurst have obviously done the four-year-old the world of good.

“I gave her a hope of winning. I went down there thinking she was going great,” Mirfin said.

“We didn’t give her a trial or jump-out going into it. She was going down there purely based on what she was doing in trackwork and she was going really well.

“In trackwork she just kept working better and better and she was thriving.”

She should get the perfect run from barrier four in the sixth race today and the step up to 1400m suits her quite well.

“I’ll definitely be trying to find her another Highway if she can win this and she’s in work at the right time for the Country Championships if she gets her benchmark up high enough,” Mirfin said.

Skipper Joe races in the seventh event over 1300m and despite coming back from the city race he’s got to take on a horse that’s won in town already.

“Clint Lundholm’s got one (Good Time Charlie) in the race that looks unbeatable to me. It’s won two races at Warwick Farm and is unbelievably placed in a set weights Plate race,” Mirfin said.