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Port Macquarie trainer Jenny Graham is looking forward to the performances of two talented gallopers Time To Excite and Rebel Dancer when they both resume from injury layoffs at Grafton on Tuesday.
“Both horses have come back real well,” Graham said. “They’ve both been off for an extended period.
“Whatever they do they’ll improve on but I’m hopeful they can be close to as good as they were.
“Obviously both horses have issues but I’m happy with both of them going in first-up.”
Time To Excite, to be ridden by apprentice Courtney Van Der Werf, resumes in the Book A Carnival Marquee C3 (1115m).
The four-year-old gelding by Excites has recorded two wins and a second from five starts.
Her two wins came at Port Macquarie and over 1200m at Canterbury on March 8 last year.
Time To Excite hasn’t raced for 348 days.“He’s had a couple of operations on his knees and a fetlock joint,” Graham revealed. “He got as slab fracture of the knee after his last start at Warwick Farm.
“We’ve given him plenty of time off to recover. It’s been a long, hard road back but he appears to have come back really well.
“He’s been working well and has had two solid trials.”
Time to Excite’s 1000m trials were at Port Macquarie on February 14 and Taree on March 7 finishing third and second to a flying Pentasia on both occasions.
Rebel Dancer, a four-year-old mare by Danehill Dancer, lines up in the Book A Carnival VIP Ticket Hcp (1115m) with premier jockey Robert Thompson in the saddle.
“She had to have a wind operation. We’re hoping it was successful,” Graham said.
“Obviously they breathe a bit different after the operation she had. Tomorrow should tell us where she’s at.
“I’ve always had a good opinion of Rebel Dancer. She’s a nice mare.
“She trialled lovely, pulled up well and I’ve been more than happy with her work.
“She’s come back real good. Provided it’s not too heavy she will run well.”
Rebel Dancer has been off the scene for 276 days but won a 1000m Port Macquarie trial on March 18 by 5.5 lengths.
The mare has a record of four wins and three placings from 11 starts including a third over 1200m at Rosehill on July 7.
“I haven’t made any long range plans with either horse. We’ll see how they perform before mapping out a program,” Graham said.
“I’m hoping they’re both good enough to go back to the city.”
Chris Scholtz has assessed Time To Excite as an $8 chance in an open race and has Rebel Dancer heading the market for her race at $4.