Christian Reith has set himself the target of 50 metropolitan winners this season and it’s opportunities on horses like Neeson that he hopes can help him achieve it.
Reith will have his first race ride on the Joe Pride-trained stakeswinner in Saturday’s Group Three Missile Stakes (1200m) at Randwick after getting his first feel of the gelding in a Warwick Farm barrier trial win last week.
The 32-year-old jockey had a successful 2010/11 season with 120 winners including 40 metropolitan wins in Sydney.
“The target last season was 100 winners so I’ll keep that as a goal again this season,” Reith said.
“And I want to get 50 winners in town. I rode 40 last season so if I can ride 50 this time I’ll be rapt.
“Having goals gives me something to concentrate on.”
Neeson usually takes a run to hit his straps but Reith said the five-year-old felt fantastic in his trial hitout last Friday and believes he is ready to run a bold race on Saturday against favoured stablemate Rain Affair.
Neeson hasn’t started since last year’s Epsom Handicap but has shown plenty of talent in his 17 starts with wins in the Group Three Tramway Handicap (1400m) and Listed wins in the Darby Munro Stakes and Hawkesbury Guineas as a three-year-old.
“These are the horses you look for an opportunity on,” Reith said.
“We just need a bit of luck on the way and I definitely think he’s a horse than can win some nice races.”
Neeson’s stablemate Rain Affair is the favourite for the Missile, and having ridden the exciting sprinter in one of his six wins Reith knows the task that awaits trying to topple him.
Reith’s win on Rain Affair came at Canterbury over 1100m on May 7 when the exciting sprinter’s regular rider Corey Brown was riding at the Gold Coast.
“The stablemate (Rain Affair) is the one to beat in the race and I’m not too worried about anything else,” Reith said.
“He (Neeson) has drawn out in barrier 10 and I think that will probably be a godsend. He’ll be out of the hustle and bustle early and I can take my time to get across.
“His trial last week was sharp enough and if he can beat the stablemate I think he can win.”
Rain Affair has drawn barrier six for the weight-for-age Missile and Brown is happy the gelding’s first foray into stakes racing is coming in an early season event with race fitness on his side.
“He’s done everything with ease and deserves his spot,” Brown said.
“It might be coming a bit soon for him mentally but I think this sort of winter, early season race is a good one for him instead of having him thrown in the deep end in one of the big sprints like a Newmarket or Patinack Classic.
“I think this is the right sort of race for him.”
AAP TURF
