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By Geoff Newling

Sharon Pepper heads to Bowraville and Grafton chasing success at both venues Saturday and Sunday. The Lismore trainer has Bitty entered in tomorrow’s $6000 Geoff King Motors Macksville Cup Benchmark 45 Handicap (1000m) and Shakespearean in Sunday’s $20,000 Ford & Dougherty Property Maclean 3YO Maiden Plate (1006m).

Shakespearean has had just the one start for Pepper, finishing 10th to Cliodhna in 1 1000m maiden at Murwillumbah on November 17. The three-year-old gelding son of Poet’s Voice has drawn wide at Grafton (11) with Josh Oliver to ride.

Bitty has drawn much better and will jump from barrier two in the Macksville Cup. The four-year-old daughter of Court Command also has Japanese apprentice Miki Nakao on board and she claims two kilograms off her 59kg impost.

Bitty resumed from a spell with a good second to Tycoon Zip at Tabulam but whether she starts at Bowraville depends on the weather, Sharon Pepper said.

“We’ve had a lot of rain up here but they haven’t had any rain down there,” she said today. “I’ve also nominated her for Ipswich and will make a decision in the morning.”

Bitty returned from a spell to run into a handy galloper in the shape of Cliodhna.

“It was a good run, it only got us on the line. She’s a nice filly and should be cherry ripe.”

Shakespearean is something of a work in progress and having his first start for Sharon at Grafton on Sunday.

“We’re just learning about him and he’s learning about us,” she said. “He’s come from Bjorn Baker in Sydney and had three trials down there.”

She thinks he is a “little field shy”. “He can gallop though, just a matter of working him out,” she said.