Winters blazing a trail with Curvetta
SHE walks like a dromedary but runs like a Ferrari.
That is the appraisal of Mackay trainer Wayne Winters, who believes four-yearold tried mare Curvetta is his next carnival champion.
The mare won her second start in a row for Winters at Cluden Park, toughing it out from a wide alley before punishing her rivals.
It was a performance that caught plenty by surprise, but one that has her trainer confident she could be primed for a big race mission next season.
The Better Than Ready mare, which started her career under Natalie Mccall, is not much to look at in the mounting yard.
But when it comes to the track, Winters only has one way to describe her.
“She is just a freak,” he said. “She comes (to Townsville) and falls asleep. She walks around like an old dromedary, but gets on the track and is just a racehorse.
“You look at her, you wouldn’t know. Her coat is still not there. But in a fortnight here, the same class, she will be better for it.
“At home she has had jump outs she has won, she runs sectionals. She is running 34 and a half (seconds) over 600m. You just don’t do that. We will give her four or five more starts, tip her out and then size up next year’s carnival.”
It is a lot of promise to put in a horse that he has only had for two starts, but Winters has confidence the mare will produce.
Her effort at Cluden Park yesterday suggested the trainer was on the ball.
Despite a wide alley, Curvetta found a pocket just off the pace behind favourite Last Chance Dance for Matt Mcguire. She gave the fiveyear-old mare a slight head start before putting the pressure on at the turn.
It was a bold move, but one that paid off for Marnu Potgeiter as he kicked clear of a strong field.
“We went through the form of the favourite, it either leads or gets behind but doesn’t show a lot of ticker. I said to Marnu, ‘get up outside it, put a bit of pressure on coming to the corner’ and the rest was history,” he said.