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By Mark Brassel

It may pay for bookmakers to be on their toes when Kembla Grange-based trainer Brett Lazzarini ventures to Bathurst on Thursday.

Lazzarini has three horses earmarked for the meeting with one having successfully pulled off a betting plunge at Wyong in September 2023.

“We were confident he could win that day and backed him at $51,” Lazzarini revealed. “He started at about $9 and came from last to blow them away.

Bonus Tempus (Keagan Latham) lands the cash for Lazzarini at Wyong. Image by Bradley Photographers

“I own about 80% of him and I can tell you after that win, he has a home for life with us!”

Bonus Tempus ($10 into $6.50 on TAB) will be lining up in Thursday’s $27,000 Benchmark 58 Handicap (2000m) at Bathurst.

“He’s a funny horse; he’s small and doesn’t carry big weights well. He’s no world beater but just a good genuine horse.

“He finished with the tailenders at Canterbury last start, but he was three weeks between runs.

“We find he’s much better when he backs up, so it will be only ten days between runs at Bathurst.”

Bonus Tempus has raced once at Bathurst when runner-up to Interventionist over 1800m with that horse also among Thursday’s entries.

The second of Lazzarini’s trio is Stonegate Lane (Class 1 Handicap, 1400m-$4.60) who is also down for Nowra on Tuesday.

“I’ve got him in at Nowra but I’m preferring Bathurst at this stage; I don’t need to make up my mind just yet.

“He’s racing well and is an honest horse; a real trier. He’s only got a short sprint and hits top speed for only 250m and then runs out of gas.

“That’s probably cost him three or four wins. I was looking at selling him at one stage, but the other owners wanted to keep racing him. He’s always earning prizemoney, so we’ll keep him going.”

Stonegate Lane took 26 starts to break through at Bathurst two starts back before a solid fourth in strong company at Wyong.

The gelding is a half-brother to Kermadec ($3 million earner, winner of Group One races the Doncaster Mile and the George Ryder Stakes and now a successful stallion).

Lazzarini’s final Bathurst runner will be his four-year-old mare Daisuki (Maiden Handicap, 1100m-$34) who has raced on 10 occasions for placings at Sapphire Coast and Cooma.

“She is much better than the form guide reads. Every time we seem to have her right, she hurts herself.

“I galloped her the other day and she flew. Hopefully everything falls into place for her at Bathurst as she’ll run a bit of a race and will be odds.”

UPCOMING NSW COUNTRY RACE MEETINGS
Thursday: Bathurst
Friday: Coffs Harbour
Saturday: Queanbeyan, Talmoi picnics (non-TAB)
Sunday: Wagga, Murwillumbah