No solid autumn plans set for boom mare Pomelo
ONE of New South Wale’s finest trainers may have unearthed another star.
The Gwenda Markwell-trained Pomelo has placed in each of its first five starts, winning by six lengths in its last run at Kembla Grange in January.
So what’s next for a young mare without an autumn plan in place?
Markwell is letting the horse decide.
Following its win at Kembla Grange in January, the horse was moved to Randwick, where the Sydney autumn racing carnival is less than a month away from kicking off, but the four-year-old’s trainer is adamant there are no plans set in stone for the prodigiously-talented Lope De Vega product.
“Sydney’s always hard,” Markwell told Horsebetting.com.au.
“We’re just going to let the horse tell us – at this stage, we’re just going to play it by ear.”
Pomelo makes its Sydney debut on Wednesday in race five at Randwick. Crownbet has the mare as the +270 favourite.
If anyone knows how to get the best out of Pomelo, it’s Markwell. The veteran horse whisperer has won the Champion Local Trainer of the Year for the past eleven years. She was also the current Kembla Grange Champion Trainer of The Year, beating out the huge both Chris Waller and Peter Snowden stables in 2012-2013.
The trainer was reluctant to heap too much pressure on the galloper, even after the eye-catching display, which suggested the mare could be a player during the autumn in the NSW capital.
.@PaulJoice1‘s top pick Pomelo proves too classy for her rivals, bolting in to win the third event at #KemblaGrange. pic.twitter.com/xEJ8AGUv2L
— Sky Racing (@SkyRacingAU) January 24, 2017
Across Pomelo’s five race career the horse has never finished less than half a length away from the winner, and has not started a race over the +400 quote since starting as a $17 outsider in its debut.
A strong showing on Wednesday at Randwick could be the catalyst for a big campaign in Sydney.
Despite the strong win in benchmark company Markwell is not certain the win is indicative of what is to come for her galloper.
“It won well (but), it beat nothing.”