WEDNESDAY’S 880m hit-out on the new Tamworth A Grass was the perfect lead-in for Maybegrey to tackle Sunday week’s $100,000 HNWRA Country Championship Qualifier at Scone.
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The Leon Davies-trained mare scooted across the fresh new grass in a quick 52.8secs to score a length win over Dean Smith’s Dream Habit.
Zoe Murphy, a young apprentice indentured to John McLachlan at Inverell, rode Dream Habit in what was her 18th trial.
Dream Habit floundered a little around the turn but made Maybegrey produce some nice work.
“She’s a nice horse. There’s a lot of improvement in her,” Smith said as he took her for a hose-down following the trial.
It was a good effort against a mare who has won.
Maybegrey is a five-year-old daughter of Botswana with five wins from 16 starts to her name.
She is coming off a last-start third at Canterbury over 1280m, beaten just over a length by How Long on a Heavy 9 surface.
With five wins so far, Davies cannot risk starting her lest she wins and becomes ineligible to start in the Country Championship Qualifier at Scone on Sunday week.
“That should top her off nicely for the Country Championship Qualifier,” Davies said after Wednesday morning’s barrier trial win.
“She couldn’t have any more wins and she needed a hard hit-out.
“That was a nice trial.
“Now we’ll aim at Scone and try to beat Greg Bennett.
“He’s likely to have four in the race.
“Good luck to him. It’s a credit to his training ability and a great team effort.”
However Maybegrey has him excited she can run a big race and stake a claim for the $400,000 Country Championship Final at Randwick on April 2.
He doesn’t have a runner at Muswellbrook tomorrow but he will be in Sydney with Crooked Blaze, who is ineligible to run in the Country Championships.
“He’s had 21 starts,” Davies said.
“They lowered it from 21 to 20,” he said with a rueful laugh.
“He will go to Sydney.”
The four-year-old gelding son of Ad Valorem, who has won five of his 21 starts, jumps from barrier 14 in tomorrow’s $85,000 The Next Galaxy Handicap (1200m).
“He’s going really well,” Davies said.
“All going well, we will leave him down there and back up the week after.”
While he’s drawn wide, James Innes Junior, who won on him at Canterbury last time out (January 13), claims three kilograms off his 56kg weight.
