With the meeting at Gunnedah called off we have three country meetings to get involved in with Grafton, Scone and Pakenham Synthetic all set to hold racing.
Paula for Pakenham success
Blood Oath is sure to have his supporters ahead of the fifth race at Pakenham Synthetic, a 1200m Benchmark 64 contest.
The eight-year-old has shown found the competition too hot when finishing down the field in a Benchmark 78 contest over this distance at Caulfield in May but has shown improvement in his two subsequent starts including when taking a Benchmark 70 event by a nose over this course and distance last month.
Gets a drop in grade here and while he’s drawn out wide he has useful claimer Matthew Chadwick up and rates a worthy favourite.
Third in that Benchmark 70 contest was Way To Go Paula who showed improved form having finished down the field at Sandown Lakeside in a 1300m Benchmark 70 contest when racing first up prior.
Slowly away last time out Philip Stokes charge was making her first start on a synthetic surface on that occasion and with that experience under her belt her jockey that day Michael Poy is taken to steer the daughter of Nostradamus to victory third up.
Casirina for Scone triumph
In the fourth race on the Scone card top weight Careering Away has shown good recent form following up a win in a 2200m Benchmark 58 event at Dubbo with a success in a six runner Benchmark 66 affair over 2400m at Wellington.
Both of those came on soft going and the ground was a soft 7 when the eight-year-old finished runner-up in a Benchmark 66 event over 1800m at Bathurst when last in action on 28th July.
While the son of Hard Spun has placed on heavy tracks in the past it’s notable that he has yet to score in 11 starts in the conditions forecast and taking that into account he may well find a true wet track specialist in Casirina, who’s heavy track record reads two wins and a second from four starts has too much for him.
Casirina showed a liking for heavy going when winning by a narrow margin in a 1450m Class 2 event at Muswellbrook when racing first up. Subsequent efforts have confirmed the five-year-old’s well-being including when winning a 1700m contest on a soft 7 track at Scone on his penultimate start.
Jockey Kody Nestor has been on board for all four starts this spell including when runner-up over 2100m at Tamworth earlier this month and the pair are taken to salute with Casirina, a son of Casino Prince having performed well over this 2200m distance in the past.
Diamond for Grafton glory
The fifth at Grafton, a 1005m maiden contest looks a competitive affair with Lee Freedman’s Paketta expected to feature prominently in the market following an improved showing dropped to 800m when fifth on a soft 5 track at Ipswich at the end of last month.
The daughter of Russian Revolution had shown little in two starts in late 2021 in her first spell but she looks opposable here with Jodi Worley taken to steer Star Diamond to victory for handler Paddy Cunningham.
While the gelding has a wide draw to overcome here Star Diamond showed a marked improvement in form on his two efforts in his first spell when finishing a good second in a 1050m maiden on a good 4 track at Inverell at the end of last month.
