Highway Handicap the path to success for Sylvester
CESSNOCK trainer Jeremy Sylvester is loving the Highway Handicap format and he will be pleased about the increased prize money boost from $40,000 to $60,000.
Sylvester isn’t a household name in Australian racing, but for him the Highway Handicap is like running in a Doncaster Handicap every week and it provides a springboard for the provincial and country-trained horses.
“You tell owners that you are going to be racing at Randwick, Rosehill or Canterbury on a Saturday and they get excited,” Sylvester said. “You only have to look at the mounting yard before the races – it is like a Doncaster and they are damn hard to win.
“You need the right horse that is on the way up because there are always two or three that have targeted the races.”
Sylvester recently saddled up Three Sheets and Lasszou to win a Highway Handicap and both will line up on Saturday which also includes four other stable runners.
“I’m Jeremy Sylvester, not Chris Waller, so it is a big deal for me (to race six horses),” he said. “It might happen at Cessnock, but to have half a dozen at Randwick is something I never expected.”
Three Sheets is a $5.50 chance at Sportsbet in the Jockey Celebration Day R81 Handicap and Sylvester believes the 1000m distance is right up its alley.
“He has won nearly $80,000 this prep and that is something we couldn’t have done last year,” Sylvester said. “He won that highway then got away with one in town before the Jungle Juice, where he was game.
“I gave him a little break and with a wet track over 1000 metres he gets his chance again.”
He will also line up Snappy One and former New Zealand runner High Tec, with both lining up in the Highway Handicap at 1.35pm.
“Hi Tec ($31) has been carrying big weights since I got him from Victoria and gets in with 54.5 kilograms, so I’m expecting him to improve,” Sylvester said. “Snappy One ($18) won at Cessnock on Tuesday and pulled up well, so why not have a go at the big prize.”