Skedaddle good to go for debut at Randwick

Apprentice Chris Williams has been waiting for a while now to ride Skedaddle in a race and he’s hoping a drying track at Randwick will enable him to debut the promising filly.

Trainer Les Bridge has been waiting for the right race to kick off the three-year-old’s career and the third event on the Kensington track on Wednesday over 1100m looks good.

Williams and Bridge want the track to get back into the soft range.

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Jockey Chris Williams has done plenty of work with Skedaddle. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

“We scratched her due to the heat on Australia Day and she’s bouncing out of her skin so she needs a run,” Williams said.

“The I Am Invisible’s seem to get through it and she trialled on a soft track that was more towards a heavy one and she got through that quite well. If she can get through it I’ll be looking forward to riding her because we’ve got a bit of an opinion of her.”

Williams has trialled Skedaddle on all four occasions going back to August and she had a spell between her second and third trial. So he knows just how well she’s progressed and the punters seem to think she can make a winning debut as a $2.30 favourite.

“I told Les when I first got on her that you’ll need a jackhammer to get me off this one,” Williams said. “She’s a tricky horse. We’ve done a lot of work with her as she tries to put it all together. She’s difficult in trackwork so the boss keeps me on her.

“She was doing everything easy first time in then she lightened off so she’s been given time and now she’s ready to go. She is a good 12 months away. Whatever she does this preparation will be a bonus but we’ve got pretty high expectations of her.”

She will come out of the widest gate in an eight-horse field and the ride of Williams will be crucial but he’s backing her to overcome the awkward draw.

“Hopefully she can bring the trial form to race day. She’s got a lot of speed out of the gates and can hit the ground running so I’m not worried about the gate,” he said.

“She doesn’t have to lead. She can sit in behind them so I want to get her in a comfortable spot and not sitting three-wide.”

Les Bridge will saddle-up two good chances at Randwick. Picture: Toby ZernaSource:News Corp Australia

Mars is the other horse Bridge has put Williams in charge of in the last race and he’s rated a $6.50 hope to produce the goods second-up.

He ran eighth at Kembla Grange a fortnight ago over 1300m and came from 12th at the home turn to run less than three lengths off the winner.

He won on the Kensington track more than a year ago before having a long spell and Williams rode him the race before that win when they ran second here as a $101 hope.

“I nearly got up on him at any old odds the first time in rode him,” Williams said.

“He had a good hit out at the provincials and Les said this is a nice race for him with no weight on his back.

“He’s a quirky little fella. He only does as much as you ask him to but when you do ask him for an effort he can find a fair bit. Hopefully we can rev him up and he can show his best on the line.”

PROUD MIA ON HUNT FOR CITY SUCCESS

Nick Olive is finally taking Proud Mia back to city racing as a horse free from an issue that was inhibiting her ability to win handy races.

The filly won impressively on debut at Queanbeyan before coming to town to get well beaten by Anders. She’s racing in the sixth event on the Kensington track on Wednesday after three-straight wins this time and is showing her true form.

“I knew something wasn’t right after that run (behind Anders),” Olive said. “I wasn’t 100 per cent happy with her early on and we did a dynamic scope on her and we found out that she was getting a ­little bit of asthma.

“She’s been treated for that and it’s made a big difference to her which is the main reason she’s been racing so well at the moment.”

Trainer Nick Olive will send Proud Mia back to the city on Wednesday. Picture: AAPSource:AAP

Like most trainers, Olive heads to Randwick on Wednesday hoping for dry weather even though his Pride Of Dubai filly handles rain-affected ground. She comes into the race as a last-start winner at Wyong and she should lead them into the straight.

“It would be good if the track got into the soft range. I think she enjoys a little bit of sting out of it,” Olive said. “She probably had excuses when she failed on heavy tracks too.

“She’s one of the fastest horses I’ve ever trained. She’s very quick. I expect her to lead again.

“On paper, there doesn’t look to be another leader in the race so she’ll be right there.”

So can she win again fifth-up? She will have to at least be as good as she was last start.

“This is a step up again against sprinters that have performed well in town and she’s got a bit of weight for a three-year-old filly which is why we’ve went with an ­apprentice,” Olive said.

“She’s been up for a while so I’ve been looking for signs that she’s had enough and we’ll get through this run before we make some ­decisions.”

Originally published asRandwick preview: Skedaddle worth the wait for Williams

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