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By Geoff Newling

Craig Clegg is hoping Blazed Prince can reproduce his splendid finishing burst of last start when he runs in Friday’s $50,000 Elite Sand & Soil Super Maiden (1200m) at Tamworth.

The four-year-old gelding son of Casino Prince will be having his fourth race start at Tamworth on Friday after debuting on a heavy track at Inverell on New Year's Day and then returning to his home Tamworth track for a fifth when caught wide throughout in late January.

While he covered extra ground he finished solidly before going for a good spell and returning with an eye-catching second in a Super Boosted Maiden on June 21.

Mikayla Weir has ridden the gelding in all three starts and she almost grabbed an electric win two weeks ago when Blazed Prince savaged the line late to go under by the barest of margins to Super Sioux.

“It was close,” Craig Clegg remembered.

“He finished off nicely. He’s still very green and immature in the head and he’s got to learn to gallop properly.

“He’s also been a handful, not a kid's pony and can make an astronaut of a jockey if they are not concentrating.”

In that regard Craig said he has two track work riders in Michael Squires and Sophie Maynes who work for him.

“They do a great job,” he said of a smaller stable of eight.

Back to Blazed Prince though.

“He’s improving,” Craig adds.

“His sectionals were pretty good the other day and if he reproduces that he will be competitive.”

That Blazed prince is racing for $50,000 in prizemoney is also a bonus for Clegg.

“Having a $50,000 maiden on your doorstep is great,” he said.

“It’s a great incentive from Racing NSW to have that sort of prizemoney available.”

Clegg has the added benefit of having Mikayla Weir aboard again and she will jump him from barrier seven on what Tamworth Jockey Club general manager Jack Penfold hopes will be another good track.

That the club did major drainage work on the track last year is a major reason why the TJC can race three Fridays in succession in winter on a good surface.

The TJC races an eight-race meeting Friday with it being “Members Appreciation Day” with all members invited to a “cup of tea upstairs”.

All the fields, form and replays for Friday's Tamworth meeting