Amanda Turnbull has conceded it’s unlikely anyone will beat Brad Hewitt’s talented mare My Casino Belle in the $30,600 Red Ochre final at Dubbo.
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The Lagoon trainer-driver will drive My Bettor Bella in the Group 3 race and it is considered one of the best hopes after Hewitt’s runner but she wasn’t optimistic.
“If Brad’s horse runs like it did in the heat I don’t think anyone else will get close,” Turnbull said.
Turnbull said the barrier draw was another thing in Hewitt’s favour, with My Casino Belle drawing barrier three while My Bettor Bella will go from nine.
The pair were both heat winners but the manner of Hewitt’s win has ensured his filly will start as short-priced $1.40 favourite, while My Bettor Bella is on the second line at $6.50.
The Chris Frisby-trained Major Occasion is offering $11 and Turnbull said she thought that filly could factor, even from barrier 10.
“Chris Frisby’s horse had a big trip back from Victoria before the heat so if it bounces back it could be in with a chance.”
And while she wasn’t talking up her own mare’s chances on Friday, Turnbull said the Bettors Delight x My Prima Bella progeny did have potential.
“She’s nice and she had a good run in the heat. She’ll win a race in town but I just think Brad will be too hard to beat,” she said.
Turnbull believes her best chance of victory will come with Our Positano in the $9180 Arthur J Gallagher Little Red Jug final.
Despite starting from the outside of the second row, Our Positano had $1.40 favouritism as of Thursday and Turnbull was confident the winner would either belong to her or her father Steve Turnbull.
“Dad’s horse [Bradness Eldefuego, $5.50] is also starting from the second row but I think whichever one gets the best start will win that,” she said.
Turnbull was modest about her other chances on Friday but the talented reinswoman has a track record of success at the Dubbo track.
“I like driving at smaller tracks so I enjoy the opportunity to come to Dubbo and Forbes,” she said.
And she said the atmosphere at Dubbo on Friday, at the biggest meeting of the year with an even bigger audience from the Dubbo Show, made for a special night.
“It has a good atmosphere. You get a lot of spectators along the back straight so it’s something a bit different.
Asked if the lights and noise of the show were a distraction to horses, Turnbull said they coped well with it.
“They don’t seem as concerned as you would think on the track. When they are tied up they will look around but once they are out there, they get in the zone,” she said.
The 11-race meeting at Dubbo gets under way from 6.02pm, with the Red Ochre final starting at 9.03pm.