The recent retirement of a stable flagbearer has Mark Newnham looking for a change of fortune at Randwick where he will have up to four runners.
Dual Group 1 placegetter Harmony Rose was scratched from last weekend’s JRA Plate on the final day of the Sydney autumn carnival after suffering a leg injury and Newnham confirmed she had run her last race.
“She has been retired. She has a suspensory injury unfortunately,” Newnham said.
“Those sort of horses are hard to replace.”
Newnham is hoping for better news this Saturday when his team is concentrated on Randwick
He had planned to spread his horses between Brisbane and Sydney but scratched A Very Fine Red and Blazing Miss from Doomben due to wide draws.
Dragonstone was also paid up for races in both states, but Newnham felt Sydney was the better option given he will carry just 51.5kg after the claim of stable apprentice Tyler Schiller.
The three-year-old will be one of three runners for the trainer in the Furphy Handicap (1100m) where he will be joined by Blazing Miss and the resuming Lord Olympus.
“He has been running well without a lot of luck,” Newnham said.
“There have been some fairly heavy tracks he has had to contend with and Andermatt was too good for him the other day, but the conditions were fairly atrocious.
“He is going very well he just needs to get into the right race now.”
Blazing Miss will be second-up in what is likely to be her final racing campaign before she is sold as a broodmare prospect, while Newnham expects Lord Olympus to be competitive after two solid barrier trials.
“He will run well. His trials have been good, he tends to go well fresh and handles wet ground well,” Newnham said.
Gone Bye will also step out for the stable in the Precise Air Handicap (1800m) but needs to lift on his recent form.
