Fillies to lead the way for Pat Cannon at Geelong
BALLARAT-based trainer Pat Cannon will have a three-horse charge for Sunday’s meeting at Geelong, headed by two promising fillies.
Fillies The Wild Wild West and She’s Tidy look close to notching their first career win and Cannon is confident his two three-year-olds can break maiden status this season.
The Wild Wild West is a well-named filly by Wanted which has been knocking on the door at its last two starts where it ran consecutive fourth placings at Geelong and Kilmore. It finished just under two lengths from the talented Menabrea last start and that’s plenty of encouragement going forward.
“I think she’s got her foot on the till,” Cannon said. “She just got beaten for third last time.”
The step up in distance should help the filly which has looked much improved since stepping up past the shorter sprinting distances.
“She runs over 1300m again. She’s fit and everything’s going good for her now,” Cannon said.
“She’s crying out for more ground, but she draws a good gate, has Damian Lane on board and she should be a good chance.”
Cannon bypassed the opportunity to race in the VOBIS Gold maiden earlier on the card, but believes the easier field will present a better winning chance.
“Those VOBIS races come up a bit strong and this is a good chance for her to knock off her maiden and chase VOBIS after that,” he said.
Cannon also lines up Sebring filly She’s Tidy, which is living up to its name by placing in two of its first four starts. The three-year-old resumed with a fourth placing at Stawell earlier this month and it’s another which will appreciate the rise in distance.
“First up she had to do a lot of work up front and she knocked up a bit,” Cannon described. “She’s a progressive staying type of filly so the 1500m will be ideal, but she’s definitely looking for a bit further.”
It finished third behind Wheal Leisure at Terang last December and the form out of that race has stacked up nicely throughout the autumn.
“She started as the favourite that day at Terang when Archie’s (Alexander) won, she’s gone on to do the job, so she was beaten by a nice horse that day,” Cannon said.
Cannon also lines up Artie’s Party in a Benchmark R64 Handicap, but it’s been anything but a party so far. The four-year-old gelding was a winner at Geelong in January, but has shown no consistency since.
It ran an encouraging run for second at Warrnambool in February, but it didn’t put up much of an effort in two subsequent runs which included a 12th-place finish last start at Ballarat.
Cannon has put the son of Artie Schiller on trial and a float trip up north could be on the cards if it doesn’t perform on Sunday.
“He’s a very in-and-out sort of horse,” Cannon said. “Not a real genuine horse, but he definitely has to show something otherwise he might be heading north for a warmer climate.
“He won first up there (Geelong) this prep, that’s his best run. He’s probably a fresh horse, tried to keep his runs spaced, but we’re getting a little impatient with him.”
A change in gear could work magic for Artie’s Party, which will also get the benefit of an apprentice claim.
“We’ll put the blinkers on and have taken the claim with George Cartwright. He’s put in a couple of bad performances at Ballarat, but his work has been sharp in between with the shades back on.
“I can’t see why we wouldn’t run a good race if he tried.”