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Tough draw for Snow Secret; Myers hunts Riccarton feature double; Cobalt hearing begins; Extra races programmed.
Tough draw for Snow Secret
Kiwi raider Snow Secret will have to overcome her visitor's draw of barrier 15 in order to win Saturday's Healesville Plate at Caulfield.The Shaune Ritchie-trained Sakhee's Secret filly has won her last two starts at Matamata and Dargaville but faces a difficult task from the wide draw in a 16-horse field.
Glen Boss takes the mount in a race that if she performs up to expectations could be Snow Secret's leadup to the Gr.3 South Australia Fillies Classic (2500m) at Morphettville on May 15.Myers hunts Riccarton feature double
Manawatu jockey Kelly Myers looks well-poised to chase a stakes-race double at Riccarton on Saturday.Myers teams up with Group One winner Nashville in the Speight's Mid Ale Great Easter Stakes and with debut winner Spiker in the Berkley Stud Champagne Stakes (1200m).
However, while the Adrian and Harry Bull-trained Nashville drew favourably with gate four, the Bill Thurlow-trained Spiker will have to overcome barrier 12 to retain his unbeaten record in the juvenile feature.Cobalt hearing begins
Racing Queensland stewards will soon decide whether to disqualify last year's Rockhampton Cup winner Vandalised for returning a high cobalt level and effectively promote Kiwi mare Lauren Tate as the winner.Rockhampton trainer Jamie McConachy faced charges related to the high cobalt level in a hearing beginning on Wednesday.
Vandalised returned cobalt samples above the 200 micrograms per litre threshold after winning the Listed Rockhampton Cup last June.Extra races programmed
Bumper programmes will be the norm for racing in the north in the coming week.The Waikato Racing Club will host a 12-race card at Te Rapa on Saturday, while the abandonment of last Monday's Avondale Jockey Club fixture after three races has led to extra races being added to the Matamata Racing Club meeting next Wednesday and to Avondale's programme next Friday.
A 1400m Rating 65 colts and geldings event has been added to Matamata, while the 1200m two-year-old fillies race lost this week will shift to Avondale next Friday, along with the addition of a 1200m two-year-olds colts and geldings event.A statement from NZTR said: "NZTR and the Northern Regional Programming Committee considered all options to provide sufficient opportunities for horses trained in the region including an additional race meeting. Ultimately it was decided that running additional races at existing meetings was a more viable alternative."