Levee Bank out to book a Country Championships final spot

Levee Bank
       Can Levee Bank’s strong form continue in the Country Championships Albury qualifier? Picture: BradleyPhotos

KERRY Weir is hopeful that his promising mare Levee Bank can book her spot in next month’s $400,000 Country Championships final at Randwick when she contests a qualifier of the series at Albury this Sunday.

The four-year-old mare comes into the race with some striking recent form, including a last-start victory in a preview of the Country Championships series at Wagga over 1300m.

This Sunday, the daughter of Excites and Shannon Bank will rise in both class and distance, taking on some genuine competitors over the 1400m trip. She’s paying +450 at Crownbet.com.au.

However, despite the challenge, Weir says his charge is a serious threat of making the final.

“She’s up in grade, but based on her recent form she deserves a crack at it – her last few runs have been pretty good,” Weir told HorseBetting.com.au.

“There are some horses in this race that will be pretty hard to beat, but she won the Country Championships preview well at her last start so we have got our fingers crossed.”

A winner of three from nine overall, Levee Bank has only missed a top three finish once since joining Weir’s stable following her second start.

The bonny bay will start with the minimum 54 kilograms on her back this Sunday, however, she will have to contend with a wide barrier after drawing 11 of 16.

Weir says Levee Bank has the ability to put herself in the race from the wide gate.

“She has had a long prep, but she is handling it all well – we are hoping she will be thereabouts,” he said.

“She’s very versatile, but there does appear to be a lot of pace in the race, so we will probably try to get a cart across from the wide barrier.

“She has shown a lot of ability since we have had her and she is going well, so you have to give her a decent chance.”

Based at Tumut, Weir, who has been training for 15 years, says the Country Championships series is a sensational way to give battling regional trainers the chance to get rewarded for their hard work and patience.

“This series is a great initiative, so I hope it keeps going.

“The Country Championships are the only time of the year we get to race for this kind of money.

“Occasionally you get the Albury or Wagga Cups, but it’s hard to get the right horses to win them.

“It can be a very tough industry – particularly in the country because if the horses aren’t winning, we don’t eat.

“It’s a tough lifestyle but it’s better than a lot of other jobs and it’s all we have ever done, so we don’t know any different.”

The Country Championships qualifier is race seven at Albury on Sunday and will jump at 4.40pm.

The first two across the line will progress to the $400,000 final.

[rmOC_events_list event_ids=1130884_07]

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