By Neil Evans
A leading Scone stable is primed to bookend Monday’s Tamworth meeting, and snap a recent run of narrow “bridesmaid” finishes.
Rodney Northam takes a strong team up the freeway from Scone for an open meeting on an improving and drying track, with his first and last well placed to take him back into the winner’s stall.
Racing returns to Tamworth on Monday.Credit: Jenny Evans
Opening the assault is progressive three-year-old Miss You So, which looks primed to peak third-up in a Maiden Plate over 1600m to open the card.
A tough son of dual Cox Plate winner So You Think, Miss You So has done his best work late in two runs back from a spell over shorter trips.
Then in the final race – Benchmark 58 Handicap over 1000m – one of the more emerging sprinters around the Hunter and New England regions shoots for a third straight win.
This One Time, a progressive filly by Alabama Express, has won her last two in dominant fashion from just off the speed, and gets a firming track to suit.
The Northam yard also saddles up a couple of solid chances through the middle of the meeting.
Lightly raced See You Then resumes from the inside draw in a Maiden Plate over 1000m, while improving mare Great Point is a leading chance third-up in a Benchmark 58 Hcp over 1400m.
The stable has been beaten by very small margins in four of its last five starts, including two in Saturday Class 3 Highway company.
Promising Shropshire Lad was beaten a head after a tough run at Randwick on June 7, while Antilocapra was edged out by a nose in Saturday’s Highway feature at Rosehill.
In between those two runs, the stable was beaten a nose and a neck in consecutive outings at Scone in Maiden and Class 1 company.
So if “knocking on the door” means anything, the Northam yard is one to follow at Tamworth.
