By Neil Evans
She might just be the best weighted runner anywhere, and promising Randwick mare Left Reeling is out to make that count in Monday’s feature Cessnock Cup at Newcastle’s Beaumont track.
In what seems an endless run of rain-hit heavy-rated tracks, Left Reeling shoots for three wins from her last four, three weeks after she blotted her copybook somewhat failing to run home in a tougher Benchmark 72 race at Warwick Farm.
Another rain-affected heavy track is expected at Newcastle on Monday.Credit:Getty
Prior to that, the four-year-old daughter of top NZ staying sire Dundeel had won two straight at Scone and on the Newcastle course proper, the latter in race record time, after being placed in five of her first six starts.
Drawn to get a soft run back in the pack on the 55kg limit, Left Reeling gets a hefty 7kg weight pull from her classy rival, tough eight-year-old home tracker Our Candidate who has been in and around the money all prep in higher class city races across late winter, and placing in the Port Macquarie Cup 17 days ago.
Throw in smart local five-year-old Mydeel who has a 50 percent win rate from 10 starts, and tough Dragon Dream who has also more than held his own in deeper metro company, and this year’s Cessnock Cup should prove a reliable formline.
Meanwhile, another beautifully bred filly steps out for the first time in a Maiden Hcp for the girls over 1200m.
Akauwheo is the latest daughter of striking Irish stallion Ribchester to debut for the leading home stable of Kris Lees.
And out of the domestic mare Tide who is by the grand Irish stallion Galileo, Akauwheo is bred to be very good, although the stock often takes time to find their feet and generally don’t fully fire until they get over more ground.
Ribchester was a global pin-up horse in 2016-17 when he won three consecutive Group 1 classics well apart across Europe and the UK, including a dominant first-up win in the famed Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot over 1609m.
In fact, he only had five career starts, including two other close placings, all at group 1 level before heading to stud.
But Akauwheo finds an opening assignment packed full of pedigree.
And it’s the Gai Waterhouse-Adrian Bott stable that heads the metropolitan debutant bid in a two-pronged attack.
Talented Star Turn filly Star Mistress has impressed winning both lead-up trials; while stablemate filly Venetian Blue, a daughter of dual-hemisphere group 1 sprint winner Merchant Navy, has also trialled nicely ahead of her first run.
