The Hawkes family training partnership have bright prospects of winning the opening two races at Tuesday’s Newcastle race meeting. Leading apprentice Zac Lloyd has been booked to ride the Hawkes pair Grand Larceny and Allapercanto.
Grand Larceny will be an odds-on favourite in the PFD Food Services 3yo Maiden Handicap (900m) in which the Zoustar colt has drawn barrier six. The three-year-olds only start was at Bendigo on September 14 when he was a $2.30 favourite. He raced on the speed, and after leading at the 400m was run down and beaten 1 1/4 lengths. He will appreciate the 900m at Newcastle.
Three-year-old filly Allapercanto has drawn the rails barrier in the Australian Bloodstock Benchmark 64 Handicap (1850m). She has only had two starts and has impressed in both. On August 26 at Kembla the filly was a fast finishing second over 1200m. Last start she appreciated the longer trip when she came from last at the 400m to win a 1400m Newcastle maiden. Allapercanto steps up to 1850m on Tuesday, and she is a promising stayer.
Hawkesbury filly Hasty Honey will appreciate a massive drop in class when she contests the Living Turf Provincial Maiden Handicap (1600m). Brad Widdup’s three-year-old was beaten under six lengths in the Group 1 Flight Stakes at Randwick on September 30. She was beaten five lengths by Tom Kitten in the Group 3 Up & Coming at Rosehill on August 26. At the Scone Cup carnival in May, Hasty Honey on debut was only 1.39 lengths away in the Listed Woodlands. The Newcastle mile is ideal, and Jean Van Overmeire has the mount.
The Maher-Eustace stable can win two races on Tuesday. The stable will saddle up the I Am Invincible mare There There in the Hellbent @ Yarraman Park Maiden Plate (1300m). Tyler Schiller is making the trip to ride the four-year-old. She has been placed in six of seven starts, and she has been runner up three times this preparation – on the Kensington track and twice at Hawkesbury. The mare is an on-pacer, and in her past two starts at Hawkesbury she has been second all the way.
Stablemate Trendy Lass, a Lonhro mare has drawn the rails barrier in the Lees Racing Class 1 Handicap (1300m), and Schiller once again has the mount. On debut over 900m at Scone in January, the four-year-old was backed from $1.75 to $1.40 before leading all the way to win by 2 ½ lengths. She didn’t handle the heavy track when down the track in the Sweet Embrace, and Trendy Lass has not raced since.
The in form Picko Rocks, placed in all three of his Newcastle starts will be hard to beat in the Allied The Careful Movers Midway Benchmark 64 Handicap (1500m). The gelding was narrowly beaten last start on this track on September 16. He is a big track horse, and he came from well back to win two on the trot at Kembla in July and August. Picko Rocks has had two starts over the 1500m trip for a win and a second.
The track has had 15mm of rain in the last week, but with no rain forecast it should be a Good 4 come Tuesday.