Racing under lights returns to Tasmania a week earlier than originally scheduled with a one-off Tuesday night meeting at Mowbray.
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Sky Channel offered Tasracing the additional timeslot so it would have a meeting to lead into the inaugural International Jockeys Challenge program in Singapore.
The regular night season begins next week and will run almost every Wednesday until April 24 next year.
Tonight’s season-opener is a relatively small meeting starting earlier than usual at 5.30pm and finishing at 8.35pm.
The in-form combination of trainer Vern Poke and apprentice Alex Patis could strike again early in the night with Husson Park.
The former Victorian looks well placed in the Class 1 Handicap where she will carry less than the minimum weight after Patis’ claim.
Husson Park joined the Poke stable at the end of July and was one of the most consistent performers over the Devonport winter carnival, with her five starts netting a win, two seconds and a fourth.
She also did most of her interstate racing on synthetic tracks so the return to the turf is some query but, if it’s not a problem, she should be hard to beat.
I had to talk the owner into letting Alex ride the horse and she didn’t let me down
- Trainer Vern Poke
Patis has ridden five winners so far this season and is coming off a double in Hobart on Sunday.
She won on the Poke-trained Chloe’s King before scoring on Boart for trainer John Luttrell.
“The Victorian owner of Chloe’s King prefers to use senior jockeys so I had to talk him into letting Alex ride the horse and she didn’t let me down,” Poke said.
“It was an absolutely brilliant ride.
“I won’t be surprised if she gets another double at Mowbray – the two horses she’s riding for me (The Rockbank Flash and Husson Park) should both be hard to beat.”
STEWARDS QUERY SCRATCHINGS
LEADING trainer Scott Brunton was quizzed by stewards over his scratching of three horses from the Benchmark 76 Handicap at Elwick on Sunday.
Brunton had three final acceptors for the race but withdrew them all, leaving a field of only four.
The trainer told stewards that Orange River was a dual acceptor and she was scratched to run at Mowbray tonight where he thought she would be better suited.
He said Sav’s Finale and Nunivak had both blown heavily after track gallops on Friday morning and he was not satisfied with their work.
Stewards noted Brunton’s explanations and advised him that, in future, he was to be “totally satisfied” with the fitness of his runners at acceptance time so as to leave no room for questioning.
