Veteran Group One winner Sniper’s Bullet is primed for his comeback but it will have to wait another week after he received 61.5kg at Rosehill on Saturday.
Trainer Tracey Bartley said the nine-year-old would bypass the benchmark 95 in favour of the $140,000 Luskin Star Quality (1300m) on the second day of the Scone carnival which has a maximum topweight of 62kg.
The 2007 Stradbroke Handicap winner hasn’t raced for more than a year after injuring his hip when he banged into his stable door last July.
“He had won a trial and was getting ready to race when he hit the stable door,” Bartley said.
“It was a silly thing to happen. He fractured his hip.
“We’ve got him back and he’s going great. He’s had three trials and Nash Rawiller and Blake Shinn have ridden him and both said he’s given them a good feel.
“The Scone race is probably a better option for him because it’s a quality handicap.”
Sniper’s Bullet is again entered for Brisbane’ Group One winter double of the Doomben 10,000 and Stradbroke.
“He obviously has to go well to go to those races but I’m happy,” Bartley said.
“It’s good to see old horses like Danleigh going well over the carnival.”
The Chris Waller-trained multiple Group One winner Danleigh finished a close third in the Chipping Norton Stakes in February and sixth, beaten just 1-1/4 lengths in Saturday’s Hollindale Stakes at the Gold Coast on Saturday.
Bartley and Sniper’s Bullet’s owners have come close to retiring the gelding over the past couple of years but each time he has convinced them to keep going.
“He’s a horse who loves stable life and loves being in work,” Bartley said.
“I’m not sure what he will eventually do but he will have to be busy.”
Stakes-winning sprinter Pampelonne is the 62.5kg topweight for the Rosehill race which attracted 18 entries.
