Scott Singleton hopes he will be celebrating from New Zealand if one or both of his horses can post a win at Sunday’s Wyong race meeting.
Hawkesbury based Singleton has two runners at the club’s SEA FM Family Race Day but will be across the Tasman at the Karaka Bloodstock yearling sales.
“I’ll be cheering them home from there and it would be great to get a win,” he said. “But then again it might be a bit dangerous because I’ll be at the sales. I might put my hand up a little bit more,” he laughed.
Singleton considers Partners to have the best chance of the two but, is also expecting a good performance from stablemate Itasca.
Nicconi gelding Partners, was an $80,000 yearling purchase for prominent racing identity Brad Hunt, from BK Racing.
The three-year-old is coming off a second at Gosford on January 17 and despite drawing the extreme outside, Singleton is confident he can go one better on Sunday in the 1100m Class 1.
“It’s not an ideal barrier but he’s got plenty of speed,” he said. “Depending on how he jumps, if he’s not ultra-quick, he’s better off out there because he can take his time to come across. It’s not too bad for a horse like him.”
Singleton said he felt Partners was unlucky last start at Gosford.
“There was one horse in there that drew underneath him and had the same speed early. I think if you take it out he probably would have won the race but that’s just him. He goes hard and keeps at it.
“He’s racing in good heart and I don’t see why he can’t go to Wyong and do something similar.”
He said Partners was a horse with plenty of upside.
“He’s always been such a hard-going horse. He’s his own worst enemy but I think he’s just starting to come back a bit and his two runs this prep, at Gosford and Randwick, I’ve been pretty happy with.
“I think there is still a chance for him to go somewhere. He did win over 1300m but he was just too good for them that day in a maiden but he’s a short course horse for sure.”
Singleton has engaged inform English jockey Tom Marquand, who rode Partners last start.
“Tom is on him again. He seems to ride him good. He’s a nice rider and they know he’s on them, that’s for sure.”
Christian Reith partners Itasca in the 1600m Benchmark 64.
The five-year-old Tickets gelding finished fourth at Orange when resuming on December 30, beaten less than half a length.
“He’s come back well. I thought his first up run was really good and he’s in pretty good order this prep,” Singleton said.
“It’s one of those races where he looks one of the chances. He raced over 1400m first up and was strong late. He will be looking for further after Sunday and has won at 2000m.
“He didn’t have a bad prep last prep but without winning. He wasn’t far away on a few occasions in strong enough races, but I think he’s come back a bit better this time in.
“I don’t think he’s ever gone as good first up as he did the other day. He’s sort of always been a narrow horse but he actually looks a bit strong at the moment so hopefully he can put another good run in on Sunday and get him up in distance.”
Singleton is hoping for a change of luck with a pretty quiet start to the season.
“Things have been a little quiet, but we’ve got some babies coming through, four or five trialled last week and some others ready to come back. Hopefully we can start getting a few more winners.”
Selections:
Race 1 – 1.20pm: THE SEA FM SHOWSTOPPER CG&E MAIDEN (1000m): 1 BASTILLE GREY, 2 Temple Run, 3 Superbowl Sunday, 4 Vosti.
Race 2 – 1.55pm: CLUB TOUKLEY’S HARRY TROTTERS MAIDEN (1350m): 1 MISS BELIEF, 2 Poseidon Star, 3 Marisabel, 4 Loveseat.
Race 3 – 2.30pm: UNITED TOOLS MAIDEN (1600m): 1 DEELBRAKA, 2 Commander’s Watch, 3 Prince Silence, 4 Chief Command.
Race 4 – 3.05pm: FLOORMASTER F&M MAIDEN (1000m): 1 SWIZELER, 2 Modernity, 3 Ivira, 4 Joyous Times.
Race 5 – 3.45pm: MI PROPERTY GROUP BENCHMARK 64 (2100m): 1 DYLAN’S ROMANCE, 2 Triple Hero, 3 Pickelhaube, 4 Fluidity.
Race 6 – 4.20pm: COMPLETE ROOFING WAREHOUSE BENCHMARK 64 (1000m): 1 TOUGH LARRY, 2 Kedah, 3 Miss Fisher, 4 Disgraceful.
Race 7 – 5.00pm: JOB CENTRE CLASS 1 HANDICAP (1000m): 1 RECTITUDE, 2 Mighty Marmalade, 3 Tikkitala, 4 Miss Einstein.
Race 8 – 5.35pm: BENDIGO BANK WYONG BENCHMARK 64 (1600m): 1 NINDAMOS, 2 McMahon, 3 Salsa Man, 4 Chalk.