By Craig Kerry
Newcastle hobby trainer Scott Aspery showed his toughness a fortnight ago when gritting his teeth through the pain of a freshly broken arm to celebrate the win of Uzziah in the last on The Hunter program at his home track.
Aspery, though, is wary of putting his six-year-old stable star through an ordeal of his own, up in grade in the group 3 Festival Stakes (1500m) on Saturday, if the Rosehill track comes up as heavy.
Uzziah powers to victory at Newcastle on November 16 for local trainer Scott Aspery.Credit: Getty Images
Uzziah was a $10 Sportsbet chance in the $250,000 race after two wins and a third this preparation in Saturday city grade, but Aspery said he won’t run if forecast rain arrives.
“He gets through the wet ground, but he’s more effective on top of it,” Aspery said. “I just think at this level, we want a fair track surface to compete against this level of horse.
“We are just waiting to see what happens with these predicted storms before we commit to a run. If it’s in the soft range with a favourable day on Saturday, we’d probably still run. If it’s heavy, I don’t think we’d run around.”
Uzziah, a $5000 buy for Aspery in 2020, has won seven times and amassed $428,080 in earnings to give the former Warwick Farm trainer a dream ride.
That ride, though, took a dramatic turn on Hunter day, when Aspery was kicked by a horse just before Uzziah’s race. Aspery knew he sustained serious damage but soldiered on with help and watched Uzziah dominate up front in the benchmark 94 handicap (1300m).
“It wasn’t a very pleasant experience, and being a big day for Newcastle Jockey Club, I didn’t want to hold things up by getting an ambulance, so I just had to tough it out until after the race. Then I took myself to hospital,” he said.
“I went white, and I felt faint, so I had to sit down. I’d never broken a bone before, but I thought something serious had happened. But the day wasn’t about me, and I was more focused on the horse and the race coming up.
“He’s going well this preparation, he’s stepped up out of Midway class and deserves a crack at a race like this. Fingers crossed we get the weather we want.”
Jay Ford is down to ride Uzziah from gate 10. A benchmark 94 handicap over 1400m the following Saturday is the back-up plan for Uzziah.
