JAY Ford will be a new rider for in-form Newcastle sprinter Uzziah in Saturday’s Group 3 Festival Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens.
Trainer Scott Aspery is keen to test his six-year-old in black type company provided the weather gods are on his side.
“The forecast for rain later in the week isn’t encouraging,” Aspery said on Tuesday afternoon.
“Uzziah is definitely better on top of the ground. Wet ground just takes that bit of acceleration away from him.”
Five of his seven career wins have been on good tracks.
Apprentice Molly Bourke has partnered Uzziah in his last three wins; a Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap (1600m) in January and Benchmark 78 Handicap (1200m) in September – both at Royal Randwick – and Benchmark 94 Handicap (1300m) at Newcastle’s The Hunter meeting on November 16.
“Molly had been booked for Felix Majestic (on whom she was narrowly beaten in the $1m Group 2 The Hunter, 1300m) in the Festival, unaware I was looking to run Uzziah,” Aspery explained.
“But I’m happy to have been able to get Jay.
“He’s sometimes a bit forgotten in the jockeys’ room in Sydney, and I thought he might have been booked for topweight Private Eye as trainer Joe Pride uses him a lot on his horses.”
Ford won the 2003-04 Sydney apprentices’ title and has ridden nearly 1400 winners, including 11 Group 1s.
Uzziah is currently 22nd in order of ballot for the Festival, with 20 permitted to run and provision for four emergencies.
“I think it’s a good race to step him up to Group 3 company on the limit,” Aspery said.
“We’ll accept on Wednesday morning and see what happens with the weather later in the week.
“There’s the option of waiting for a Benchmark 94 Handicap (1400m), also at Rosehill, a week later if he doesn’t run on Saturday.”
Aspery is delighted with the gelding’s progress since his all the way victory at home at The Hunter meeting.
“Uzziah has come through his last race better than his previous start (when third in an 1100m Benchmark 78 Handicap at Rosehill),” Aspery said.
“Blake Spriggs rode him work for me this morning, and afterwards said they don’t work any better than that.”
The Newcastle mentor is hoping to be the second provincial trainer on end to land the Festival; leading Hawkesbury trainer Brad Widdup having won it last year with Phearson (Tom Sherry).
Twenty-five horses were entered for the Group 3 feature, which was first run in 1948 at 1400m, and has been at its current 1500m since 2008.
Uzziah is one of only three provincial entries for the Festival Stakes.
Gosford’s Adam Duggan has entered Diamond Diesel (seventh in The Hunter) and all-conquering Ciaron Maher has last start Little Dance winner St Lawrence, currently at one of his many bases at Bobs Farm near Newcastle.
Story John Curtis, November 26, 2024 - Pics Bradley Photos
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