Brett Partelle is banking on a change of luck for his two runners at Thursday’s SYSCON Race Day.
He saddles up Aytobe and new stable addition Head Spins and considers the consistent Aytobe, who lines up in the 1600m Benchmark 64 as his best chance.
“We could really do with a bit of luck and hopefully that will come at Wyong,” he said.
“The horses have been racing well but without any luck and that gets pretty frustrating.”
Bullet Train gelding Aytobe has been placed third at his three starts this preparation, his latest outing over the 1350m at Wyong on November 26.
Partelle expects him to appreciate a step up in distance and be very competitive if he can run out the 1600m.
“He’s definitely got a good chance on exposed form, but it will depend if he can run the mile,” he said.
“He’s given every indication that he can and Rachel (King), who rode him last start, thinks he should.
“We’ve given him a traditional campaign, stepping him up from the 1000m to 1350m in his three starts.
“He’s had the grounding to run the solid mile.”
Partelle said the five-year-old had not been getting beat far among some strong competition.
“There’s been some good form around him. He was beaten by Mo’s Crown at Newcastle last preparation and he’s franked that form.
“He’s been sparingly raced and taken a long time to mature.
“He’s racing well, has won one and run eight placings and I’m looking forward to seeing how he can go over the mile.”
Head Spins, a newcomer to the stable, starts in the 1000m Benchmark 64.
The lightly raced five-year-old is coming off two trials, the latest at Gosford on November 25.
“He trialled well first up and was still quite burly and took further improvement for his next trial,” Partelle said.
“I reckon this race will bring him to his peak.
“We are having a look at him and whatever he does I’m looking forward to moving on with him through the campaign.
“He should run quite nice.
“He has won first up but, in a lot, lesser grade but he’s a happy horse and when you get them happy, they tend to try harder.”
The meeting sees the final round of the Magic Millions Wyong Provincial Trainers Series and Partelle could swoop in for a last-minute victory if both his runners were to greet the judge.
He is one of 19 Provincial trainers with runners across the seven races.
The series has been run over three meetings, with Provincial trainers allocated points for winning or placing in individual races, with a double points bonus race each meeting.
The winner at each meeting receives flights, transfers and accommodation to the Magic Millions Sale of their choice, and the overall winner, decided on Thursday, also bags a $5000 MM Sales credit.
Race 6, the Benchmark 64 over 1600m, will carry double points.
The first race gets underway at 1.35pm.
SELECTIONS:
Race 1 – 1.35pm: SICAME AUSTRALIA MAIDEN PLATE (1350m): 1 BIG LION, 2 Saint Of Katowice, 3 Resilient Star, 4 Just A Jedi.
Race 2 – 2.10pm: LAWRENCE & HANSON MAIDEN PLATE (1000m): 1 THAT’S BETTER, 2 Pacific Ocean, 3 Perlant, 4 French Bonnet.
Race 3 – 2.45pm: THE ENERGY NETWORKS METRO & PROV MAIDEN PLATE (1600m): 1 TERONITO, 2 The Fringe, 3 Prince Six, 4 Chenin Blanc.
Race 4 – 3.20pm: INTERNATIONAL POLES CLASS 1 & MAIDEN PLATE (2100m): 1 HARPO MARX, 2 Kippax, 3 Persian Front, 4 Every Effort.
Race 5 – 3.55 pm: FIRE & GENERAL CLASS 1 HANDICAP (1200m): 1 NELSPRUIT, 2 Stoltz, 3 Bravio, 4 Yangarra Rose.
Race 6 – 4.35pm: FULTONS FLYING FETLOCKS BM64 HANDICAP (1600m): 1 SHAMANI, 2 Fill Of Fun, 3 Aytobe, 4 Savvy Valentino.
Race 7 – 5.10pm: SYSCON BM64 HANDICAP (1000m): 1 MISS DIOR, 2 Mr Polar, 3 Kyo, 4 Head Spins.
