Former Tasmanian and accomplished sprinter Donna’s Day will make her NSW debut at Ballina on Sunday when contesting the Benchmark 66 Sprint (1000m).
Trained previously by Scott Brunton, the Domesday mare won her first four races, registering wins over 1200m at Hobart (x3) and Launceston, before finishing down the track at her last two starts in late 2022 and early 2023.
The five-year-old went to the paddock for a well-earned break before being sent to the David Matts stable in Coffs Harbour.
“She was bred by the owner up at Tenterfield, and she actually sent a few horses down to Tasmania to be trained, and that was one of them,” Matts explained.
“She won her first four, and her last two runs were a bit disappointing, but they suspected the horse had a virus, so they sent her home to Tenterfield for a good long spell, and now she is ready to go at Ballina.”
She’ll be 36 weeks between runs when resuming in the five-furlong sprint, but Matts explained that Donna’s Day has a good foundation of work behind her.
“She was at a pre-trainer for six weeks, I’ve had her for about eight weeks, and she’s had two jumpouts at Coffs Harbour over 800m,” Matts said.
“She came here with a bit of a long coat, but it’s all cleaned up, and I think she appreciates the warmer weather.”
Matts hasn’t been blown away by Donna’s Day and her work, but he believes she is the type of mare that will fire on race day.
“She is a little bit lacklustre in her trackwork, but we shook her up the other day, and she found something, and she strikes me as the kind of horse that only gives what she has to give,” Matts said.
“She jumps and races near the front, and when challenged, she boxes on, pins the ears back, and goes, and I think that’s what we’ll see at Ballina.”
She is unbeaten first-up, starting twice for two wins, but she has only ever won over 1200m, and she does run into a couple of handy types in Lady Tulessa, Ain’t She Lovely, and Lashoni.
“She should go well, and I think it is a good race, but it is going to be a learning curve for myself and the horse,” Matts said.
“She has to handle the NSW way of going instead of the Tassie way of going, and whether 1000m is a bit short, I don’t know, but it’s a good starting point to see where she is and where we go with her.”
Gate seven and the top weight of 61kg isn’t ideal in the good field of eight, but the in-form Jag Guthmann-Chester is in the saddle.
“Jag has been riding well, and his stats for his last 50 rides is 11 wins or something like that, so he’s going at better than 20%,” Matts said.
“He had one ride at Ipswich the other day for one win, and he’s a little heavy at 58kg, but he’s going well at the moment.”
Guthmann-Chester will also ride the Matts-trained Last Not Least, third-up in the 1590m Benchmark 58 Handicap.
Well-drawn in gate three, Matts believes the five-year-old is primed to run a big race over a more suitable distance.
“He’s a chance; he gets back up to a competitive distance,” Matts said.
“He goes better over a mile or more, and his first couple of races back from a spell were a bit short, but he has still been competitive, and I think over a mile, he will be a lot closer.”
It’s a good program at Ballina, and headlining the seven-race Sky 1 program is the 1300m Open Handicap.
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