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Honest mare Money Never Sleeps can bounce back to winning form in the opening race at Canberra today.
Photo by Racing and Sports
The mare, prepared at Queanbeyan by Mick Smith, has been racing in top form this campaign and after a luckless run in town can return to her best here as she takes on this Benchmark 64 over a mile.
Money Never Sleeps stepped up to 1400m third up at Wagga and after going back from a wide gate stormed home in the soft ground to score a length win.
She then drew wide over the same trip at Goulburn and this time rolled forward.
With her big weight she faced a fair bit of pressure there and battled on gamely, just edged out on the line when a long neck runner-up.
She returned to Goulburn for a 1400m Class 3 and drew the inside gate. From there she sat second and loomed up in the straight, driving to the line in a three-way photo, finishing a nose runner-up.
Up to a mile on her home track of Queanbeyan she settled midfield to the turn but edged to the clear and ran away with a four length win.
That prompted Smith to head to town over 1580m at Canterbury last time for a Benchmark 70.
Unfortunately there she blew the start and settled worse than midfield, turning there before working home well in the straight to finish fourth behind Beg.
The mare drops in grade for today's race and does have a good record at both the track and at the distance.
The slow track holds no fears and from a good gate she'll be on the speed throughout and will prove hard to beat on her recent efforts.
The locally trained Spanish Halo is another returning from a run in town and should be ready to hit his straps after three runs from a spell.
Fresh-up was in a Benchmark 70 at Wagga over 1200m where he settled well back and ran on hard to finish a close-up third.
He then raced at Queanbeyan over 1460m with a big weight and getting back and finding traffic worked home strongly when clear to finish a 2.2 length fourth.
Last start, over a mile at Warwick Farm, he settled midfield and turned there, battling away to finish a four length seventh behind Live And Learn.
He rises sharply in the weights here but drops back in grade and will be fitter for the run.
He has a good record here and is unbeaten in two runs on slow ground.
St Emilion has been racing consistently since a spell and relishes the trip.
The gelding ran on well to finish fourth fresh at Goulburn before stepping straight up to a mile at Kembla Grange.
There he drew wide and went back before circling the field and running on well to score.
Last start, over 1400m at Wagga, he had a big weight and raced just off the speed before looming up and just missing, when a head second.
He has a kilo more here but back to his favourite trip he should be in the finish again.
Fullerton is fitter for two runs back and on his placing in the Wagga Guineas three runs back should give a big sight at that trip this time.