Mat Rue will have to overcome a pair of awkward draws if he is to lead a Dubbo-based horse to victory at Bathurst Paceway on Wednesday night.
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The talented reinsman has four drives booked on the night, with two of those being Karloo Ten Seventy for Barry Lew and The Only Child for Peter Gavin.
The Dubbo pair have been handed tricky draws, something especially not ideal for Karloo Ten Seventy, who is making his first start since May 25.
“He’s first up and has come up with a tough gate,” Rue said of Lew’s six-year-old, who will start wide out from gate six.
“So we’ll just have to try and settle him early on and hope there’s a bit of speed on and then we can have a bit of a late run.”
Prior to his spell, Karloo Ten Seventy had been a mark of consistency for Lew and the gelding has currently only missed out on a top three finish eight times in his career of 30 races.
The progeny of Art Major and Learjet has scored eight wins and two of those have come when Rue was in the gig.
“I always get along with him,” he said.
“I’ve won a few with him and he’s quite easy to drive so I do look forward to it.”
There is set to be some talent on show in the Ian Mutton Get Well Soon Pace (1730m), with the classy Sabrage starting in the back row alongside De Santa Anna.
Trained and driven by Steve Turnbull, the four year old Sabrage scored a win at Bathurst in the impressive mile rate of 1:58.2 earlier this month while De Santa Anna has been at regular at Menangle throughout his career.
That race will be followed by the second heat of the Bedwells Feedbarn Star Trek (1730m), where The Only Child will start from gate eight.
Rue’s approach for Gavin is expected to be much similar to the way he drives for Lew, with a late run over the top of the field the goal.
But The Only Child is set to come up against one of the night’s biggest favourites, Shane Tritton’s Blue Moon Rising.
Blue Moon Rising has been nothing short of stunning for Tritton, with eight wins recorded from nine starts.
“We’ll have to settle early and there will be some speed,” Rue said.
“I think it will settle through the middle and we’ll have to hope there’s some tired ones we can get over at the end.”
The Only Child has eight wins and six places from 29 career starts.
Rue will then drive Skirmish in the Knickerbcker Hotel Pace, a race where he feels he has arguably his best chance of winning on the night.
His meeting comes to close in the gig of the Bernie Hewitt-trained Always Mysterious in the Reliance Three Year Old Pace (1730m).
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
