Morphettville trainer Paul Beshara is searching for a rider for his multiple Group 1 winner Happy Trails for his assignment in the Group 1 $400,000 New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
Trainer Paul Beshara is searching for a rider for Happy Trails, above, in the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Sarah Ebbett.
Premiership winning jockey Damien Oliver is Happy Trails’ regular rider when he competes in Melbourne but he is one of seven hoops who will be unavailable for the running of the first Group 1 of the 2015 Melbourne Spring Carnival.
But Oliver had already been booked to ride the Lloyd Williams owned Fawkner in the Memsie Stakes before he was suspended for careless riding at Seymour last Wednesday and he is out of action until midnight September 2.
Oliver’s replacement on Fawkner, Damian Lane, was also outed for ten meetings for careless riding from last Saturday’s Moonee Valley meeting and his appeal will be heard on Wednesday.
Other riders not in commission for Saturday are Craig Williams, who will be riding in Japan in the International Jockey Challenge, Luke Nolen, Brad Rawiller and Nick Hall, all out injured and Chad Schofield who has taken up a Hong Kong riding contract.
Beshara is quickly running out of names to chase but is thinking of giving Glen Boss a call.
“Maybe I can grab Glen Boss for the ride. It is a really odd start to Melbourne’s big races when you cannot get one of three or four jockeys who usually ride your horse because they won’t be there,” Bashara told the Herald Sun.
Happy Trails resumed from a spell with local jockey Simon Price in the saddle for a first up sixth to Red Eclipse in the Group 3 $120,000 David Coles AM Spring Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville on August 8 and Beshara is happy with the way the eight year old has come through the run.
“I was very, very happy,” Beshara said.
“He hit the line beautifully.
“We wanted him to just drop out. He’s not a sprinter, so he’s not going to stay with them anyway.
“He ran home like we wanted. It was lovely.”
Happy Trails main Spring target will be the Group 1 $3m William Hill Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 24, the race he almost captured in 2013 when beaten a whisker by three year old Shamus Award.
Happy Trails other two attempts at the Cox Plate resulted in a tenth to Ocean Park in 2012 and a close up sixth behind super Irish horse Adelaide last year.
The giant chestnut then went on to win the Group 1 $1m Longines Mackinnon Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on November 1.
Leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller has sorted out his Memsie Stakes jockeys with Glyn Schofield to keep his association with multiple Group 1 winner Boban while Criag Newitt has picked up the ride on Weary.
The Lindsay Park Team of David Hayes and Tom Dabernig have lured Michael Rodd back from Singapore to ride new stable acquisition Rising Romance and Blake Shinn has been booked to ride Rosehill Guineas winner Volkstok’N’Barrell.
