Latest News

By Ray Hickson

It’s not in Clint Lundholm’s training text book to ask a young horse to make the jump My Boy Scout will at Dubbo on Thursday but he’s quietly confident the talent is there to have a shot.

Trainer Clint Lundholm (Pic: Janian McMillan).

A first-up maiden winner at Narromine last month, the three-year-old will be giving away plenty of experience in the Aquawest Handicap (1100m) at just his third race start.

Lundholm said he would have preferred to head to a Class 1 with the well named gelding, out of a mare called Girl Guide, but he could learn a lot about the horse if he handles the step.

“I’m not a big believer in going to a 58, it’s a lot easier sticking to your grade,’’ Lundholm said.

“There’s some older horses that have won quite a few races and he’s the young up and comer but I think he’s got plenty of ability.”

My Boy Scout had his first start under the care of his owner Richard Jackson before he was transferred to Lundholm, as is the case with many of his younger horses, and he said there was plenty of merit in that first-up Narromine win on June 23.

After working to cross and find the lead, the gelding was able to hold off the more experienced Hefty Price and Lundholm said it was great to see the runner-up confirm the firm twice in the past couple of weeks.

“I was a little bit concerned when he did roll forward of being vulnerable late. All in all he got the job done,’’ he said.

“He’s a bit of a thinker, that’s why I ended up with him from the owner, and heading to the front took all that thinking away from him.

“He was too strong on the day, he only just held on but (Hefty Price) came out and won a $50,000 maiden and just got beaten at Tamworth last week.

“He’s pretty headstrong and can do a lot wrong but he has plenty of improvement in him. It’s hard to win your next start but I think he has plenty of ability and if he can it shows he’s got a bit more than average ability.”

Stablemate Shaquila has two years and an extra 31 starts worth of experience on My Boy Scout and Lundholm said he shouldn’t be discounted despite not beating a runner home in his last start at Dubbo.

“His first-up run was super, second-up I thought was a forget run,’’ he said.

“I expect him to bounce back, he’s ticking over to win a race in his next couple of starts.”

The Dubbo trainer feels stayer Always Fiorente is a strong chance of staging a form reversal in the XXXX Ultra Handicap (2200m).

It’s the same track and distance that saw the four-year-old lead and weaken into ninth place just over a week ago but Lundholm said it was a run at the trip he needed to have after jumping straight from success at 1600m.

“He was super at Coonamble and I stepped him straight to 2200m and it wasn’t ideal,’’ he said.

“He raced a bit fiercely but he was still in front at the 100m. With that under his belt he’ll be nice and dour for the 2200m and he’ll be in it for a long way.”

There’s a decision to be made race morning about whether one of Lundholm’s stable favourites Avalicious attempts back-to-back wins in the Medley Refrigeration Handicap (1400m).

The six-year-old posted her sixth career win when leading all the way in the Benchmark 58 Winter Challenge Final on June 29 and he said if she does line up he’d expect she’ll run well again.

“She’s been a lovely horse, I broke her in, a lot of my family are in her, she’s a great country benchmark horse,’’ he said.

My Boy Scout wins at Narromine on June 23

“I might keep her for Warren next week, she’s unfortunately drawn 15 but it’s flip of the coin what you do.

“She’s a different mare, she’s had a good long spell and come back and her first-up run was super.

“We had a couple of dollars on her the other day, she won by the skin of her teeth but she still held on and got the win. She’s back with a new lease on life.”

All the fields, form and replays for Thursday's Dubbo meeting