Leading Hawkesbury trainer Brad Widdup hopes to 'hook' a winner or two at home on Tuesday to edge him toward a local premiership victory.
Widdup, currently sharing top billing with Annabel and Rob Archibald (12 wins apiece at Hawkesbury this season), is away on a fishing trip with a number of clients in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
He has three acceptors, including both Reverberates and Jump In The Line in the St Johns Park Bowling Club Maiden Handicap (1800m), along with The Grey in the Clarendon Tavern Benchmark 64 Handicap (1100m).
However, he may run only Reverberates, who will be ridden by stable apprentice Zac Wadick.
"We're thinking of splitting Reverberates and Jump In The Line to give them both good chances to break through this week," Widdup's wife Milissa said this morning.
"Possibly Reverberates will start at home, and Jump In The Line will go to Gosford on Thursday for a 1600m Provincial Maiden Plate. Both horses are close to wins."
There was little between Microphone three-year-old filly Reverberates and Divine Prophet four-year-old gelding Jump In The Line when they filled the minor placings behind fellow Hawkesbury representative, Ed O'Rourke's Shalaa Jet, in a Provincial Maiden Plate (1600m) at Wyong on June 8.
Reverberates has now been placed at three of her last four starts, and is indeed deserving of putting a win on the board.
She ran second to stablemate Diamond Show (who won again at Wyong yesterday week) at Hawkesbury on May 27 before Widdup opted for blinkers for that Wyong assignment.
Reverberates is the $3.60 second favourite with TAB behind $2.70 favourite Malbork Castle (Tom Sherry) in an $8 bar two market.
Tommy Berry rides $4.20 favourite The Grey, who, with blinkers off, has had the benefit of a close first-up fifth (beaten less than a length) to Are Ee Que in a similar race over 1000m at Kembla Grange on May 31.
The lightly-raced and consistent Deep Field three-year-old was a second-up winner at home in a Provincial Maiden Plate (1100m) last November on soft ground.
Promising Newcastle filly Queen's Rhapsody ($2.30 fav) has a gear change as she goes back to Hawkesbury tomorrow for what connections are confident will be another victory.
The lightly-raced three-year-old daughter of So You Think, after four consecutive city seconds last year with a Sydney stable, broke through at Hawkesbury on May 15 in a Provincial 3YO Maiden Handicap (1300m) at her first start for new trainer Nathan Doyle.
Newcastle apprentice William Stanley rode her then, and has the mount again in the Fowler Civil Contracting Midway Class 1 Handicap (1300m), his 3kg allowance lessening the filly's weight to 56kg.
Doyle accepted with Queen's Rhapsody at the last two Saturday meetings at Newcastle, but chose not to run her.
"Queen's Rhapsody is a younger half-sister to another of our horses Boston Rocks (whose six wins have all been on good tracks)," Kurrinda Bloodstock principal Sean Driver said this morning.
"Boston Rocks isn't happy on wet ground, and Will Stanley said after Queen's Rhapsody won at Hawkesbury that she wasn't all that comfortable on a Soft 7.
"Her class got her home that day, and Nathan has decided to put visors on her tomorrow. We feel she is a stakes grade filly in the making, and she should be very hard to beat.
"Hopefully we can get another win or two this preparation with Queen's Rhapsody and give her a break. She still isn't there physically or mentally."
Hawkesbury racecourse manager Digby Nuthall had good news for the Queen's Rhapsody camp, posting a Soft 5 rating this morning, with a real possibility of an upgrade to a Good 4 tomorrow.
"We had 3mm of rain overnight, and that's all we have had in the last week," Nuthall said. "With fine weather today and forecast again tomorrow, a good surface is definitely on the cards."
