In form mare Episodic will chase a fourth win in succession when she makes her Melbourne debut on Saturday.
Formerly in the hands of Chris Waller in Sydney, Episodic came to South Australia having placed at three of her four starts, a trend that continued under the care of Will Clarken and Niki O’Shea running second at four of her first five starts in Adelaide last spring.
But things have turned full circle in 2024.
Episodic is unbeaten in three starts, breaking her maiden at Oakbank before her past two wins on the Morphettville Parks circuit where she has shown a brilliant turn of speed to win emphatically.
“She’s in career best form,’’ Clarken and O’Shea’s Racing Manager Lachlan Weekley said.
“Typical with these tried horses that the boys get, they learn a lot from their first preparations and know how to train them better the second time around.
“She’s a horse who is really enjoying being trained out of Murray Bridge,’’ he said.
Episodic has drawn the inside gate with Damian Lane taking the ride and Weekley said the mare should be fighting out the finish.
“It does look an appropriate race on paper, she has a gun rider, she’ll need an ounce of luck at the right time but if that happens she should be right in the mix,’’ he said.
Episodic will be joined in Melbourne by stablemate Extremely Lucky who returned to Adelaide with a brilliant win first-up in the Group 3 Hawkes Stakes at Morphettville.
A horse who created a massive impression winning the Listed Lightning Stakes at Morphettville back in July 2022, Extremely Lucky went to Sydney and was unplaced in six runs for Chris Waller.
He comes off an unplaced effort in the Group 1 Goodwood but was a horse capable of turning things around at Caulfield.
“He’ll get back off the speed and he looks a winning chance in a race where you could make a case for a lot of horses,’’ Weekley added.
Declan Bates will ride Extremely Lucky from an outside draw who will clash with fellow South Australian Keep Reading who is coming off an impressive return to racing at Morphettville recently.
Carleen Hefel will ride Keep Reading who will be trying to make it successive Melbourne wins for the Richard and Chantelle Jolly stable after Pudding’s success last weekend.
