By Neil Evans
He’s well named given the frustration for connections, but a long wait for a second career win is set to be rewarded for C’mon Mate at Tuesday’s feature Hawkesbury meeting.
The tough five-year-old from the Kembla stable of Ross McConville is still hunting a second win nearly 17 months after a breakthrough success at only his fifth start.
The racing spotlight turns to Hawkesbury on Tuesday.Credit: Getty
That came on his home track, with punters pulling off a significant betting plunge at the time, but the pickings have been lean since.
In 21 career starts, C’mon Mate has run 11 placings, seven of those seconds, often by narrow margins and without luck.
On either side of that initial win, he beat all but the winner five times in six starts, including three defeats at Kembla, twice by a nose, and once by a long head.
Fast-forward and not much has changed, with C’mon Mate three times in the placings in his last five runs, often in tougher company, including a last start Benchmark 64 at Hawkesbury where he worked home into a place behind Rolling Magic.
Now, McConville has dropped his gelding back to Class 1 level, and he’s never shaped better to finally land that second win for his big team of owners, drawn the inside in a moderate affair over 1500m.
Meanwhile, punters’ eyes will be all over an intriguing Super Maiden Hcp over 1100m later on the program.
Exciting three-year-old Apex returns as a gelding for his second start for Team Hawkes behind two sharp trials.
But he’ll be locking horns with first starter and boom trial-winning filly Regimental Colours from the Bjorn Baker stable.
Taken along slowly since first trialling back in May, Regimental Colours won his latest hit-out by more than four lengths, running the fastest time of her session.
And in the same race, leading local trainer Brad Widdup resumes his progressive filly The Grey off two trials, winning the latest on the Kensington track.
Supplied by Racing NSW
Full form and race replays available at racingnsw.com.au
