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Emma Reeves aids us with programming and identifies who she thinks is the best placed horse each weekend.  Surfin’ Bird, Saturday 16th May, Scone, Race 9: I’m looking forward to this weekend because I always find it’s a very successful one for us across both states. Although Surfin’ Bird is yet to win in Stakes company, she proved that she is well and truly up to it two weeks ago when just getting her head down a stride past the post. She races the girls once again, the extra 100 metres will suit and the handicap conditions mean that she’s much more suitably weighted than she was last time.She’s such a lightly raced mare that it’s hard to tell, but she seems to race very well when fresh. I’ve heard nothing but positive comments from her foreman and riders since her first up run though, so I’m happy to overlook any concerns there. This has been a long range plan for her and I think the puzzle pieces are coming together nicely. I think she’ll be hard to beat and hopefully secure her position amongst the Queensland Carnival team. ​  

WEDNESDAY 27th MAY - DOOMBENRail Position: +5M EntirePALMANOVA, Race 3, 1200m, 1.12pm, J Bayliss, 56kg Palmanova ran a fantastic race first-up at Warwick Farm. She didn’t enjoy the clearest of runs at a crucial time but once clear she hit the line extremely strongly, so on that evidence we’re confident she’ll relish this step up to 1200 metres. She’s taken everything in her stride since heading north to Queensland and she’s loving her new surroundings, so we couldn’t be happier with her ahead of this outing. She’s drawn a lovely barrier in 4 so Jake should be able to roll forward without having to make too much use of her, and from there she will have every opportunity to travel evenly in the run and make her own luck accordingly. This is a lovely race for her en route to bigger and better things, and we expect her to be hard to beat.WEDNESDAY 27th MAY - CANTERBURYRail Position: +4M EntireSINGLE LADIES, Race 1, 1100m, 1.25pm, A Hyeronimus, 57.5kg Single Ladies ran a very encouraging race on debut at Warwick Farm earlier this month. She was forced to travel wide and cover extra ground in the run, but she still fought on very gamely to the line where she wasn’t beaten far at all. She’s taken plenty of natural improvement from that experience, so we expect her to be a lot more streetwise here. She’s again drawn a slightly wide alley in 8, but Adam will be positive from there to try and get across into a more favourable position. The additional 100 metres here is another positive and Too Darn Hot’s progeny tend to handle wet tracks too, so we’re confident she’ll cope with the conditions. This is a lovely race for her as it’s confined to her own age and sex, and she’s open to any amount of upside so we expect her to be extremely competitive.FRONT RANK, Race 2, 1250m, 2.00pm, T Clark, 59kg Front Rank is delighting Adrian and myself ahead of his first start. He has had two trials at Randwick to prepare him for this race, and he hit the line nicely in his latest one where the further he went the stronger he was. These two hit outs have given him a very good fitness base and educational grounding for 1250 metres first-up, and Canterbury is a tight turning track so Tim will be positive from barrier 11 to try and have him in a handy position where he can make his own luck on or close to the lead. He’s been a straightforward and professional gelding thus far, and whilst he hasn’t trialled in blinkers this time in he did when winning his second trial last preparation so we’re elected to put them on here to ensure he’s entirely focused on the task at hand. He's shown us plenty of ability thus far so we’re confident he’s up to this grade, and we’re looking forward to seeing him run a competitive race for you to get his career off to an exciting start.IMPERIAL CODE, Race 2, 1250m, 2.00pm, R King, 56.5kg Imperial Code is delighting Adrian and myself ahead of his first start. He has had two trials at Randwick to prepare him for this race, and he took plenty of improvement from his first one to finish second in his most recent which was very encouraging to see. These two hit outs have given him a solid fitness base and educational grounding for 1250 metres first-up, and Canterbury is a tight turning track so Rachel will be positive from barrier 10 to try and have him in a handy position where he can make his own luck on or close to the lead. He’s a strong willed colt so we hope he can keep his mind on the job come race day, but he's improved each time we’ve raised the bar with him. Whilst taking on older horses is difficult to do it’s late in the season and we think he’s up to it. He's shown us plenty of ability thus far, and we expect him run a competitive race for you to get his career off to an exciting start.AIRWORTHY, Race 4, 1250m, 3.10pm, T Clark, 61kg Airworthy is thriving ahead of his return. His trials have been most encouraging and he took good improvement from his first one to finish second in his most recent outing at Randwick, after which Tim Clark was very complimentary about him. He was victorious when last first-up over course and distance at this track in December where he broke his maiden, so we know he goes well over this track and trip which adds confidence. He’s drawn well in barrier 4 so Tim should be able to roll forward to control the race to suit himself, and whilst the heavy track’s an unknown we hope he’ll handle it and there’s every chance it will dry out a little come race day. You don’t often find Benchmark 64 races in town and for this one to be restricted to his own age group makes it a very suitable starting point for him, and we expect him to take plenty of catching.