Mud runners eyeing success at packed Scone meeting

The sunny run is seemingly over, and the mudlarks could be stalking once again at Monday’s feature Scone meeting.

On a nine-race card with accepted full fields left, right and centre, constant lead-up rain is expected to send the surface tumbling back into the soft range.

While that’s music to the ears of many runners who have spent much of the current prep on rain-affected ground, no galloper will be better suited than underrated and improving Warwick Farm mare Savanaci who can pull off the day’s biggest upset in a Class 1 & Maiden Plate over the mile.

Trained by in-form Annabel Neasham, Savanaci is by group 1 All-Aged Stakes winner Tivaci who revelled in rain-affected going, and out of a mare by 2004 Cox Plate winner Savabeel.

Drawn wide, which may be a bonus late in the day after plenty of traffic prior, she is tracking to peak at just her fourth start, and first go over this distance.

Savanaci hasn’t been far away in her last two at Goulburn and Kembla, and drops in weight for this, with dynamic off-speed hoop Alysha Collett taking over in the saddle.

Of course, the major stumbling block will be provincial four-year-old and likely short-priced favourite Wrathful who comes off an impressive and fast-finishing second-start win in a maiden at Newcastle.

Earmarked for bigger assignments, this emerging son of Ulysses had trialled strongly in soft going prior to his debut, which can put favourite backers more at ease if the rain really sets in.