Lack Of Races Sends Raeburn South

Queensland Cup placegetter Raeburn will head south for the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival earlier than planned due to the lack of suitable staying races on offer in his home state.

The seven-year-old gelding has not had a run since his third placing to Tinseltown in the Listed Queensland Cup at Eagle Farm on July 9.

Trainer Brian Smith will trial Raeburn for a Sydney campaign in this weekend’s St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School Handicap in Brisbane.

“There’s no open company staying races around for Raeburn before the end of the month and that’s too late for him,” Smith said.

“Saturday’s race is a Benchmark 85 race. They are a good idea but they don’t cater for staying horses looking to go south at this time of the year.

“It’s a very hard time of the year trying to get a horse ready for the spring.”

Raeburn will be ridden by apprentice jockey Ben Looker in this weekend’s race.

“Scott Galloway rode him in the Queensland Cup but with 59.5 kilos I’ve had to claim on him,” Smith said.

“Scott is out anyway after breaking his foot when a horse fell on him at the Gold Coast barrier trials a few weeks ago.”

Should Raeburn perform this Saturday, Smith is likely to take him to Sydney with the talented Hume for a run in both the Group 3 Newcastle Cup and Group 1 The Metropolitan at Randwick.

“He’s had an easy time since the Queensland Cup and I’ll make up my mind after Saturday whether I send him down for the Newcastle Cup with Hume,” Smith said.

“Hume is in the same boat as there’s nothing around for him here either.”

Hume finished fourth in the Next Byte Handicap at Doomben last weekend behind the talented Lake George.

“It was a solid run considering he was caught three wide most of the way,” Smith said.

“If he was in this race on Saturday he would have got 70 kilos.”

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