Albury trainers take short trip for final day of the season
By Neil Evans
Albury stables are gunning for a big farewell on the final day of the 2022/23 racing season at Monday’s Corowa meeting.
Popular and evergreen trainer Ron Stubbs, renowned for getting his runners to perform fresh, takes aim with a pair of lightly raced three-year-olds, both resuming for only their third starts.
Albury trainer Ron Stubbs.Credit: Getty
Oke Moon, a daughter of somewhat unfashionable sire Odyssey Moon, returns in a maiden handicap over 1000m on a surface likely to improve back into soft 6 range.
Having shown enough improvement in two runs at Wagga in autumn, Oke Moon is expected to come to hand sharply, despite a tricky fresh draw.
But the trainer has to overcome plenty of familiar rivals, starting with debutant two-year-old Canny Hell.
A son of prolific soft-track sire Hellbent, Canny Hell looked very forward winning a recent heavy-track trial at home with plenty in hand for Albury trainer Kym Davison.
Mitchell Beer is another trainer making the short trip from Albury.Credit: Getty
The Mitch Beer stable has three runners entered in the race, including a pair of two-year-old fillies both having their first start; while another Albury trainer in Donna Scott pins her faith in four-year old Freakshake third-up and two-year-old Galah filly Teneca Reign on debut.
But most eyes in and around the Stubbs yard will centre on the third race — a class 1 handicap over 1000m — when his talented and powerful three-year-old filly Rumours Abound returns.
The daughter of group 1 winner Press Statement hasn’t been seen since a dominant second start win at Wagga in mid-January when she blitzed her rivals by a space, clocking a very sick 32.29 seconds for her final 600m.
In his customary fashion, Stubbs brings her back without any public trials, and has seemingly found a very modest race to open her new prep.
Again, though, the main threat appears to come from a rival Albury stable in honest three-year-old Black Tahitian who drops back from a stronger class of race third-up.
Supplied by Racing NSW
Full form and race replays available at racingnsw.com.au
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