TAMWORTH trained horses Moobi, Arlo’s Way and The Sparkle Legend won three of the first six races at Tuesday’s Scone race meeting.
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The meeting was scheduled to be held at Tamworth but was transferred to Scone due to the failure of the Tamworth track to return to peak condition after its recent renovation.
Melanie O’Gorman’s The Sparkle Legend was the first to salute when the debutante won the Yalumba Wines Maiden Handicap (1200m) before the Troy O’Neile-prepared Arlo’s Way upset his more fancied rivals, the 20-1 chance snaring the Pages Hire Plate Maiden (1600m).
Moobi might have been the most impressive winner though, sailing down the middle of the track for jockey Greg Ryan and Cody Morgan.
Ryan believes the six-year-old chestnut gelding son of Spinning World, is a horse of great potential.
He was having his seventh start, and notched a third win and his second in succession at Scone.
“He’s really going well,” Ryan told Sky Thoroughbred Central.
“Blossoming, he’s just improving all the time.”
Morgan is excited for his gelding and could be headed to Sydney for a Highway Handicap but has next year’s Country Championship in his sights.
He’s delighted the Hunter and North West Racing Association’s Country Championship Qualifier will be held at Tamworth next year but wouldn’t have minded it being held on the wide and spacious Scone layout either, a track his gelding seems to love.
“He’s as good a horse I’ve had for a while,” Morgan said.
“Hopefully he’s on the right track now.”
O’Neile is also excited about the future of his five-year-old gelding Arlo’s Way.
“He’s had his foot on the till for a while,” he said of the son of Arlington.
Josh Oliver rode Arlo’s Way and he said he had been unlucky at Gunnedah at a previous start and was back to his “own grade today”.
“He’s a tough old bugger,” Oliver said.
Melanie O’Gorman believes The Sparkle Legend has a promising future after winning on debut.
“He’s been working well and had a couple of nice trials,” O’Gorman told Sky Thoroughbred Central.
“He’s got a nice future.”
Luke Cumberland rode the son of unfashionable sire Polanski and said he sprinted well when asked.
All three trainers could have runners at Gunnedah on Saturday for the Gunnedah Jockey Club’s Christmas Hams meeting after nominating horses from their stable.
The GJC received a huge 186 nominations on Monday that left club secretary manager Mark Storey “flabbergasted”.
The $22,000 Manion Drilling/Ultrafleet Christmas Hams Cup (1600m), a benchmark 66 handicap, is the feature and has drawn 16 entrants with I Am Awesome (Kris Lees), Sea Lady (Brett Thompson) and Uncle Sugar (Tara & Philippe Vigouroux) sharing the 60kg topweight billing.
They are followed by Free Ticket (Mack Griffith) 59, Dreamnomore (Rod Northam) 58.5 and Balmaceda (Tony Newing) 58kg.
