In Brief
- No luck with barriers for Stevenson in BM60.
- Trainer expects a forward showing from Red Roger.
- Start important for Rhyme Writer from gate 1.
Wesley Vale trainer Glenn Stevenson has five runners engaged on his local track this Sunday, with potentially three of those runners all stepping out in the Thai Imperial Benchmark 60 Hcp (1650m).
Surging Storm is second emergency for the fifth race of the day but is guaranteed a start in the benchmark 60, a race where Stevenson has rather unfortunately drawn the three widest barriers.
Congomotion looks the best chance of Stevenson’s trio in the race, hitting the line very strongly in two 1350m runs to open his campaign.
“I reckon back to a 60 from a 66 (benchmark), if he had of drawn a gate, I would have been pretty keen on him,” said trainer Glenn Stevenson also alluding to the likelihood of the seven-year-old backing up over 1880m next week.
“We actually brought him in fresh and did everything to try and keep that turn of foot. It was the same with Surging Storm, but he might be a bit dour now after a couple of tough runs,” added the trainer.
The third of Stevenson’s runners in the race is six-year-old gelding Needs A Crown who had two runs in Victoria during the COVID-19 shutdown of Tasmanian racing and the trainer says he needs things to go right in his races to be a winning chance.
“He hates anything shifting, he’s got to have a true surface.
“He’s a real tempo related horse, he needs to have a real solidly run race,” said the trainer who will rely on luck for his trio of runners from the poor draws.
One runner that has drawn a little better for Stevenson is Red Roger who is first-up in the Ladbrokes Maiden (1150 metres).
He enters the race having had one trial that his trainer was pleased with.
“His trial I thought was really good and he had a jump out last Wednesday. I’m happy with how he is coming along.
“Being a Mawingo (sire) is his only issue, he is probably still another six months away, but I think he will be hard to beat.”
Rhyme Writer is the fifth of Stevenson’s runners and won’t need to improve a great deal from his last start third to be in the finish of the Carlton Draught Class 1 Hcp (1150m).
“Hopefully he jumps clean and he gets that nice cart behind like when Froggy (Craig Newitt) won on him,” said Stevenson referring to his maiden win in Launceston on 28 March.
Stevenson said stable star I’m Wesley has just returned to work and all things going to plan will attempt to add to his unprecedented three successive Newmarket Handicaps later in the year.
“He’s eight-years-old, we’d love to go to the Newmarket and the Conquering and that will probably be it.”
Watch the replay of Rhyme Writer finishing third last start in Devonport.