Trainer Matthew Dunn might have the numbers and his runners have most of the betting support for the Newhaven Park Country Championships qualifier at Lismore on Saturday, but his fellow Murwillumbah based trainer David McColm might just have the horse to upset the applecart.
The lightly raced, chestnut mare Fairway Choice could be McColm’s ace in the pack.
A winner of three out of his four starts, the lightly raced four-year-old will go into the race second-up after a striking, midweek, metropolitan win at Eagle Farm on February 7 in which he gave weight and a two-length beating to the useful Enabler over the 1200m trip.
McColm is of the opinion that 1200m is not Fairway Choice’s go, so the step up to 1410m at Lismore is seen as a positive.
Kyle Wilson-Taylor, fresh off a notable riding double at Doomben on Wednesday, stays with the Speith mare, a move which displays a strong vote of confidence in both McColm’s judgement and Fairway Choice’s ability, given that Wilson-Taylor could have chosen to ride at Eagle Farm instead on the day.
The McColm stable generally enjoys a great strike-rate and that, by and large, is due to his ability to assess and place his runners to their best advantage which again is very much in evidence here with Fairway Choice’s seventy-five percent winning strike-rate.
The Matthew Dunn stable might look to be in the pound seats for the race … but, the message is clear.
It would be foolish to dismiss Fairway Choice chances lightly.
