There aren’t many NSW trainers in better form than Albury’s Rob Wellington.
Since Altrove’s win at Corowa on March 11, Wellington has started 17 horses for six wins.
Veteran sprinter Smiler Marshall has been flying the stable’s flag, with wins at Albury, Gundagai, and Wagga during that period.
At the same time, Shame For Fame has been enjoying the rain-affected tracks, winning at Albury and Wodonga.
With Sunday’s meeting at Albury transferred to Narrandera due to the recent wet weather, Wellington isn’t too fussed about moving away from his home track and is just happy to be racing.
“It’s absolutely fantastic, and it’s great of Racing NSW to think ahead and put the meeting on at Narrandera,” Wellington said.
“It could be the new wet weather course in the region, and hopefully, it holds up on Sunday.”
Wellington has two live chances in action, with Bobotov (Josh Richards, gate 1) contesting the 1200 Country Boosted Maiden Plate and Shame For Fame (Teighan Worsnop, gate 9) entered in the 1200m Country Boosted Benchmark 58 Handicap,
Bobotov raced three times during his first preparation, placing at Albury and Corowa, and Wellington expects a forward first-up showing from this three-year-old Press Statement gelding.
“He is going to be a nice horse,” Wellington said.
“It will depend on how he handles the track; his last start was at the Albury Cup meeting when it was a really heavy track, and he looked like he would win, but he got stuck on the inside.”
Bobotov is 12 weeks between runs, and he trialled on a Heavy 10 at Wagga (1000m) on June 13 in the lead-up to this race.
“He should handle all grounds, but first-up on a heavy might make it a bit tough,” Wellington said.
“Still, he’s done the work, and Faith Collins is our new apprentice, and she had her first jump-out on him, and they went good, which was good for her and the stable, so we expect him to go all right.”
Shame For Fame has been racing well following good victories at Albury and Wodonga, with the four-year-old Brazen Beau mare somewhat of a wet-track specialist, with six starts on the soft for three wins and two placings.
“She loves the wet, and she’s just a tough little filly,” Wellington said.
“She’s coming off a gut-buster at Bendigo, and we’re backing her up eight days later, but she just loves a wet track, and we’ll give her the run, see how she goes, and either way, she’ll get a fortnight off after that.”
While the stable is running hot, Wellington will also head to Sandown Lakeside on Wednesday, with Smiler Marshall getting his chance in town when contesting the 1200m Benchmark 70 Handicap.
The six-year-old Warhorse gelding has been racing in a purple patch, winning back-to-back races at Albury in March and Gundagai in April before finishing an excellent second to the Tim Donnelly-trained Participator in the 1200m Benchmark 74 Handicap at Wagga in early May.
The Albury galloper ran into another strong Tim Donnelly runner when beaten a bit over two lengths by Lipstick Swing in the 1000m Benchmark 88 Handicap at Albury on May 5.
Following a four-week freshen-up, he came out in the Winter Sprint at Wagga on June 13 and put away an outstanding field in a Benchmark 84 Handicap over 1000m.
“That was a pretty dominant win at Wagga, and he didn’t have much weight, but after that kind of effort, he deserves a shot in town,” Wellington said.
“We’ve had him for a while now, and we gave him a break, and he’s really starting to mature, and he’s not put a foot wrong this preparation.”
For now, Wellington will focus on the Narrandera meeting, which will be a good lead-up program for the club’s Leeton Toyota Narrandera Cup Big Dance qualifier meeting on Sunday, July 16.
For fields, click here.
NSW Country and Picnic Racing’s tips for Narrandera
Race 1: Sydney Gal (5)
Race 2: Bobotov (2)
Race 3: Wilbury (1)
Race 4: Silverdale Chief (7)
Race 5: Mahjing (9)
Race 6: Willybeafactor (7)
Race 7: Rapid Ruby (9)
Michael Bailey’s tips for Narrandera
Race 3: Super Norwest (12)
Race 4: Silverdale Cheif (7) – Best bet
