Home-track hoop Mathew Cahill is hopeful a drop back in grade will help Manatassee return to the winner’s circle at Cowra on Saturday.
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Cahill will ride the six-year-old in the Ronald McDonald House Orange Fillies and Mares Benchmark 55 Handicap (1100m) and believes her racing pattern will be suited around Cowra.
And he should know. Not only is Cowra his home surface but he has ridden Manatassee in 10 of her 34 race starts.
“She’s speedy mare who usually leads, or at worst sits in the top three, and that is where you usually need to be at Cowra,” Cahill said.
“Every time (trainer) Darryl (Rolfe) had dropped her back in grade she seems to perform well.
“She’s been doing most of her racing around Canberra, but on Saturday she drops back to a Cowra Tier 2 TAB meeting.
“She’s got a wide gate and a big weight, but her speed should be able to offset the barrier and she’s a big mare, so the weight hopefully won’t be an issue.”
Cahill will travel to Moruya on Monday to reunite with Wellington Boot winner Lucy Rose before he fronts an appeal at Wagga on Tuesday in an attempt to get a two-week suspension overturned.
Six races are set down for Cowra, with the first scheduled for 12.43pm and the last to leave the gates at 3.58pm.