He expects the instructions for Nock will be simple, to make use of her speed and an inside barrier.
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“Braith rode a good winner on Friday night where he rolled to the front, I watched that with interest to see how he handled that horse and he looked to do it well,” he said.
“A small field makes a difference and drawing a good gate does too.”
Hilton said a decision to wait a few more days will give lightly raced mare Slinky a chance to notch a city win in the James Squire Handicap (1200m).
The four-year-old was initially going to run on Friday night but the stable felt the better option was to line up on her home track.
Supplied by Racing NSW
Full form and race replays available at racingnsw.com.au
Freedman races in honour of late mate Kavanagh
Craig Kerry
Trainer Will Freedman will run Cold Brew in the race named in memory of his close friend Sam Kavanagh at Newcastle on Thursday.
Race three on the transferred Gosford program was changed to the Vale Sam Kavanagh 1200m maiden after talks between the clubs.
Kavanagh, who trained out of 20 boxes at Newcastle Racecourse for the past three years, died at age 38 last Saturday morning after a battle with cancer.
Freedman, who trains in partnership with his father Richard, won that day at Randwick with Zoubaby and dedicated the victory to Kavanagh.
Cold Brew was nominated for Newcastle and for Friday at Canterbury but Freedman said he would now go to Kavanagh’s race.
“Hopefully there’s some divine intervention,” Freedman said.
“He’s going the right way that horse, and hopefully he lines up. But it’s not about me, it’s all about Sam.”
Everest-winning jockey retires at 30
Craig Kerry
Jockey Sam Clipperton has retired at age 30, just 14 months after winning the richest race on turf, the $20 The Everest, aboard Think About it.
Clipperton’s surprise announcement came via Instagram on Monday night.
“After 15 years of race riding, the time is now to pursue other goals and I am excited for what is in store for the future,” Clipperton said. “Thank you to everyone who has supported me along my journey.”
Clipperton had his first race ride in 2010 and won the coveted NSW metropolitan apprentices’ title in 2012-13 and 2013-14, with 27 winners each time.
He won five group 1s before his career highlight with Think About It, but he had been riding mostly on the provincial circuit in recent times. His last ride was on last-placed Scorching Legend on December 7 at Rosehill. He finished with 672 career winners and had 15 from 91 rides, at a strong strike-rate of 16.5 per cent, this season.