Shooting For Stars returned to form with a 1.35L victory in race three’s benchmark 66 (1000m) at Wagga on Thursday.
After a credible third at Albury last start, the four-year-old mare was given the perfect ride by Billy Owen, sitting off the leader in ADR’s Sheila, before just running her stablemate down in a stable quinella.
Dale said the race suited his mare perfectly.
“She went okay last start but we found this race and thought it was a nice one for her,” Dale said.
“We brought her back in trip, in a small field and the tempo of the race really suited her.
“Billy Owen gave her a great ride – she can be hard going at times but he pulled her in and got her in a perfect position.
“It was also great to see Sheila run well, she missed the kick at Berrigan last start but returned to form nicely at Wagga and nearly took the race off Shooting For Stars.”
Shooting For Stars has slotted back into life at ADR seamlessly and Dale couldn’t be happier to have her back in the red and white silks.
“We thought she could come back and do well, that’s why we were so keen to get ahold of her on the online sale,” he said.
“By being a bit inconsistent in Adelaide her rating came down a bit and we thought we’d be able to find a few nice races for her.
“She’ll go to another (benchmark) 66 at Albury on April 15 and has a chance to make it three wins in 66 races since returning.
“She’ll probably carry 59.5kg but we still think she can win with that.”
PHOTO: Shooting For Stars wins at Wagga. (Trackpix Photography)
