Premiership winning jockey David Pires rides the Hobart track as well as anyone and on Sunday he will be hoping to continue his good form, riding a treble at the last Hobart meeting a fortnight ago.
Pires will be in action across nine of the 10 races on Sunday with eight of those rides for leading trainer Scott Brunton.
Bookmakers give the majority of Pires’ rides good winning chances and he agrees, entering the meeting with some confidence.
“I’ve got some good rides on paper and let’s hope I can snag three or four winners,” said the jockey who has 34 winners since returning to riding in October following injury.
Six-year-old mare Runaway Girl has gone close to breaking her maiden in two runs for the Seven Mile Beach stables of Scott Brunton and Pires thinks Sunday might finally be her day dropping from 1200m back to 1100m.
“I’ve always said to Scotty, I like how the horse gallops, but I don’t know how far she’ll get.
“Blinkers back on and back to the 1100m, I think Sunday will be her day if she’s ever going win a race,” Pires said who has been aboard the mare at her two runs this campaign.
Videmanette may not be on the right side of punters after running second as $1.40 favourite a fortnight ago, but Pires believes there was merit to that run and isn’t perturbed by the drop from 1600m to 1400m in the benchmark 60 race.
“I may have gone a bit slow and gave the others a chance to run me down,” Pires said honestly after being a reluctant leader last start.
“She’s got the blinkers off which I think will help her settle and back to the 1400m I think she’ll run a really nice race.
Two thirds of Pires’ treble at the last Hobart meeting came aboard Shampz Again and Fragment, two horses he will partner again on Sunday.
Shampz Again jumps from a maiden win to benchmark 66 company but Pires is confident the three-year-old gelding could have won by further last start if he wasn’t still learning the caper.
Fragment after winning in Hobart on 5 July.
“He’s a horse that if he hits the front too soon, he kind of waits.
“Coming around the home turn I was going to win by five lengths. He got to the front and wanted to slow up.
“I’ll ride him a bit colder than I did over the 1200m, just so he has something to chase up the straight.”
Fragment returned from a short Victorian campaign with a dominant victory over 1400m and he is another horse dropping in distance but Pires is very happy to be sticking with him on Sunday.
“I was really happy with his work leading up to the race that he won.
“It’s going to be a really interesting race and hopefully Fragment can win again,” said Pires with the Brunton stable also saddling up Ruettiger in the open handicap of the day.
A favourite among punters, Pires has returned from the COVID-19 shutdown in great from with nine winners since racing resumed.
Riding trackwork for Brunton and with a packed book at most race meetings, Pires is hopeful his leg injury battles are firmly behind him.
“I’ve been working anywhere from 10 to 18 horses at Scotty’s a morning.
“Touchwood it (the leg) has been really good, particularly through the cold mornings we have here in Tasmania.”
Watch the replay of Shampz Again winning over 1200m in Hobart last start.