SYDNEY’S weather will determine whether a winning duo will seek a Sydney breakthrough at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
Newcastle trainer John Bannister and Taree apprentice Shae Wilkes are scheduled to chase four wins on end with rejuvenated seven-year-old Oh No Bro in the Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap (2000m).
Bannister has taken Oh No Bro all over the countryside recently, winning races with him at Kemspey (October 8, 1900m Benchmark 58 Handicap), Quirindi (October 28, 2000m, Benchmark 66 Handicap), and Armidale (November 10, 1900m Benchmark 68 Handicap) when he humped 62kg to clinch a hat-trick.
Wilkes has ridden him in all three wins and is poised for her first city ride, whilst Bannister has had a dozen or so runners in town but yet to win one; Poseidon Ruler being his sole placing at Royal Randwick last December.
The same horse (now trained in Brisbane) was his last Sydney runner when fifth at Rosehill on February 5 in a Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap (1200m).
Whilst Oh No Bro is in great form, his trainer is worried about the forecast for rain in Sydney, and has a back-up plan to run the gelding at home on Sunday in the Cessnock Cup, a Conditional Benchmark 68 Handicap (1850m).
“He’s no good in heavy ground,” Bannister said on Thursday morning.
“Oh No Bro’s owner Scott Long is flying over from Adelaide to see him race at Rosehill, but I’ve told him we won’t be running if the track is too wet.
“They’re saying there might be 30mm of rain or so at Rosehill.
“I wanted to chase his fourth win on end at Newcastle yesterday in a Benchmark 68 Handicap (2300m), but scratched him as Scott wanted to come over at the weekend.”
Successful businessman Long, a former Scone and Newcastle resident, rang Bannister on the recommendation of retired Newcastle bookmaker Allan Hincks after Oh No Bro had finished a distant fifth over 1600m on a heavy track at Taree on Christmas Eve last year.
“Scott and Allan are good friends, and Scott asked me to train two horses for him,” Bannister said.
“Oh No Bro didn’t go too well at his first three runs for early this year, but I gave him a good break and he has really hit his straps now, especially since Shae started riding him.
“She knows Oh No Bro well as I understand she broke him in and reared him, and her father Wayne and brother Joel trained him for his first 11 starts (which included a maiden Grafton Benchmark 58 Handicap victory over 2220m in August 2021).
“The old horse is going super, and I’m happy to give him his chance in town as long as the rain stays away, and also for Shae to make her debut in the city.
“I train him virtually out of a paddock on my farm (at Leconfield near Branxton), and he is thriving on that.”
Oh No Bro, a son of Casino Prince, has won eight races – and six of them have been on good tracks.
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He has drawn barrier three in a field of 13, and Wilkes is expected to claim only 1kg of her 3kg city allowance and ride him at 54kg.
However, she has taken bookings at Grafton on Sunday, and Unfo
Bannister will have plenty of provincial opposition if he gives the go-ahead for Oh No Bro to line up at Rosehill.
There are eight other provincial-trained horses contesting the 2000m event.
Kembla Grange’s Kerry Parker, successful with Vieste at Newcastle yesterday, has So Sleek (Jay Ford) and last start Hawkesbury winner Tom Cruising (Winona Costin), and fellow Kembla Grange trainers Joe Ible, Rob and Luke Price and Mitch Beer have Patrika Mist (apprentice Ben Osmond), Extreme Freedom (Jason Collett) and Old Gregg (Zac Lloyd) engaged respectively.
Bannister’s fellow Newcastle trainers Paul Perry (Totoka, Reece Jones) and Jay Hopkins (Sonofdec, Adam Hyeronimus) also have runners, and Wyong’s Sara Ryan (Humanity, Tim Clark) completes the provincial contingent.
Story John Curtis, November 28, 2024 - Pics Bradley Photos
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