Australian Racing: Manchego to cheese off Warrnambool rivals

There are four meetings set to take place on Monday including at Warrnambool, where an eight-race card is scheduled.

They also race at Lismore, Mount Isa and Scone.

Race 6 Warrnambool

Manchego @ 3.00

Race 5 Scone

Miss Rebel @ 3.40

Race 5 Lismore

Eagle's Fire @ 2.80

Manchego primed for Warrnambool win

The sixth race on the Warrnambool card is a 1200m Benchmark 58 handicap set to take place on a soft 5 track.

The Aaron Purcell-trained Francine is expected to feature prominently in the market in this contest.

The seven-year-old has performed well at this level here in the past, including when successful over 1100m here last month.

That win preceded a good second when contesting a Benchmark 64 handicap over this track and trip 10 days later.

Both of those efforts came on a good 4 track, with the mare generally disappointing when encountering wet conditions.

With underfoot conditions in mind the lightly raced MANCHEGO is preferred on this occasion.

Trained by Matthew Cumani, the gelding has encountered a wet track just once in an official race.

However, it’s of note that he did perform well on a wet surface in a barrier trial at Stawell in August last year.

The 3.00 selection is the winner of two of his five starts to date and remains open to improvement.

The first of those wins came on debut at Ballarat in October last year prior to finishing down the field when stepped up to 1400m here later that month.

The gelding has made just two starts this year, with a heavy 8 track likely to blame for his last-of-nine finish over 1125m at Geelong in May.

Cumani’s representative returned to form when winning by a length over 1209m in a Benchmark 58 handicap at Kyneton last month, however.

Logan Bates, on board last time, is again set to ride here and his mount rates highly in this event.

Miss Rebel to shine at Scone

A seven-race card is scheduled at Scone, with the fifth race an 1100m Class 1 handicap contest.

Kris Lees’ representative Thundering Soul has registered two solid efforts this prep, including when two-and-a-half-lengths third at Newcastle last time.

The gelding contesting a 900m Benchmark 64 handicap held on a soft 5 track that day and is set to encounter similar underfoot conditions here.

The three-year-old won at this venue on debut, however, there has to be a slight concern about the 1100m distance and he looks opposable here.

MISS REBEL is the selection in this event, having resumed with a second on a heavy 9 surface when competing in a 900m maiden here in September.

The 3.40 five-year-old broke through for her first win when successful by two-and-a-half-lengths in a 1000m event at Muswellbrook on her next start.

The extra 100m appeared no issue when the mare lost out by a head when runner-up in an 1100m Class 1 handicap at Quirindi when last in action.

Jake Pracey-Holmes, on board for each of her last two starts, is again set to ride, with the pair taken to register a win jumping from barrier four.

Eagle's Fire to fly in at Lismore

The fifth race at Lismore is a 1210m Class 1 handicap expected to take place on a soft 5 track.

EAGLE'S FIRE takes the eye for the Shirley Batten stable, having registered a number of good efforts in defeat this prep.

Those efforts include third-place finishes in each of his last three outings, including when narrowly beaten over 1100m at Gatton on his penultimate start.

The 2.80 pick contested a Benchmark 58 handicap on that occasion and went on to lose out by just over a length in a 1200m Benchmark 65 handicap at Ipswich subsequently.

The wet track expected here is no issue, with the son of Dracarys selected to record his second win of the year.