Gai Waterhouse will start 24 horses at the Wyong luncheon trials on Friday including Craven Plate winner Lorne Dancer.
He will be one of four horses Waterhouse will trial in the first heat, due to start at 11am. Lorne Dancer’s win in the Craven Plate was the highlight of an outstanding spring for the five year old in which he won four successive city races.
The stable’s promising middle distance galloper Music Maestro, the winner of two of his only five starts, will also run in the first trial.
Seventy two horses have been nominated for the 10 heats with Patinack Farm to run 13 horses and Kris Lees eight.
One of the interesting runners from the Lees stable is the pure white three year old maiden The Opera House, which will trial in heat seven at 12.18pm. This is the horse that John Singleton bought for $270,000 at last year’s Magic Millions Premier sale on the Gold Coast.
He will race the horse in partnership with Andrew Johns and eight lucky race goers who were part of a Blue Tongue promotion at Wyong’s Sunday meeting last February.
This will be The Opera House’s third preparation but Lees has taken his time with the filly to allow her to strengthen up.
Entry to the trials is free with Gai Waterhouse and Wyong Race Club hosting a free sausage sizzle while refreshments will be supplied courtesy of Singleton.
Waterhouse has become a regular at the Wyong trials in recent months because of the superb racing surface and the promotional efforts of the club.
The trials will follow a strong eight trace program tomorrow and will be a perfect lead up to the club’s Magic Millions race day on Sunday, December 6.
That meeting features the $200,000 Magic Millions Wyong Two Year Old Slipper (1000m) and the $100,000 Magic Millions Wyong Three Year Old Stakes (1200m).
Grahame Timbrell
