Latest News

By John Schell

Newcastle trainer Kris Lees started the new year with a bang with a two-year-old winner at Royal Randwick on Saturday and he will be out to maintain the form at Taree on Tuesday with two runners set to go around, one of which is for Australian Bloodstock.

Lees prepared Rivellino to score on debut at Randwick and sends his team to Taree confident of carrying on the winning trend.

He will start My Mate Cobber ($8.50 on TAB) in the Harrington Hotel Harrington Cup Benchmark 66 Handicap (1300m), with Jose Severo to ride, lining up alongside stablemate Solutionist ($4.20 equal favourite) which will be ridden by Andrew Gibbons.

My Mate Cobber (Mitchell Bell) in winning touch at Newcastle. Image by Bradley Photographers

Solutionist races in the Australian Bloodstock colours and looks the pick of the Lees pair.

My Mate Cobber is having his first start for Lees in what is the final race of the day having previously been trained by Ken Lantry. He’s a winner of two from 27 but also has 11 minor placings to his name.

Solutionist has only had six starts, with the four-year-old mare by Written By winning two of them.

“She had a couple of unplaced runs in her first campaign against handy opposition then showed the benefit of those efforts when winning two from two at her second preparation, including one at Taree,” Lees said of Solutionist.

“She’s had another two starts since resuming and, while unplaced in each of them, she’s been beaten less than two lengths each time.”

The Taree meeting will have somewhat of an international flavour with the Adam Duggan prepared All Hunky Dory ($1.45 favourite) lining up in the Shoreline Tavern Harrington Benchmark 58 Handicap (1600m).

All Hunky Dory formerly campaigned in Hong Kong where it last raced at Happy Valley in June of 2021.

Since joining the Duggan stable the Irish-bred gelding by Exceed And Excel has had two trials before running second at Tamworth and then winning at Taree at his latest outing, starting favourite in each of them.

Ashley Morgan was aboard All Hunky Dory in his Taree victory, however, Jean Van Overmeire, who was in the saddle at Tamworth, is back aboard the eight-year-old on Tuesday.

View the final fields with full form & race replays for Taree here