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By Graeme White

Impressive debut winner Smuggler’s Bay ($1.80 favourite on TAB) will be out to enhance his race record at Albury on Monday after a near track record-breaking performance.

Smuggler’s Bay clocked a blistering 56.33 seconds on May 6 to fall just outside of the course record for 1000 metres held at Wagga by Mixed Blossom (56.1 seconds).

The three-year-old will carry an extra kilogram over the same distance in the Star Hotel Albury Class 1 with jockey Kayla Nisbet in the saddle for her father and the gelding’s co-trainer, John Nisbet.

The former jockey prepares Smuggler’s Bay in partnership with Ron Weston for owners Tony and Helen Mair who race under the MFT Racing banner.

Nisbet likes what he sees in Smuggler’s Bay and said it was a matter of keeping the galloper in one piece to see him fulfil his potential.

“You just hope a horse like him keeps improving a bit and stays in one piece,” Nisbet said. “There have been other relations from his family that have won races, but none of them in the class of this horse.

“He is pretty strong, fast and on the track can run time when you ask him for it.”

Nisbet trained Smuggler’s Bay’s dam Cha Cha’s Angel for the final two starts of her career before she started her stud career. She has produced some handy winners in Bosley and Kentucky Angel, but Nisbets know Smuggler’s Bay is far superior to those.

Smuggler's Bay ran his final 600 metres at Wagga in 32.90 seconds – a time rarely seen by any galloper let alone one having its first start. With that one win behind him, Smuggler’s Bay has to back-up that performance with 60kg at only his second start.

Nisbet said he was hopeful of some exciting times ahead for Smuggler’s Bay and the horse’s owners: “The owners bred the horse and are pretty excited about him as we are,” Nisbet suggested.

Meanwhile, Tori Marguerite’s ($5.50) first-up statistics could help her to another fresh win in the Border Bandag Benchmark 58 (900m). The mare has won two of her three first-up runs and on Tuesday will be having her first start since January.

Wodonga trainer David O’Prey said the four-year-old lost form at the end of her final campaign and sending her for a spell was the logical decision.

“She had some hard runs and they probably flattened her. I couldn’t work out why she lost form so the spell was the best thing for her,” he said. “She seems as good as ever again and all is in order for her to race well fresh.”

Tori Marguerite has won two of her three starts – the latest at Corowa in November – with a third placing at the Wodonga Cup meeting and a positive report from champion jockey Jamie Kah providing plenty of hope for O’Prey and the owners.

“Jamie was pleased with the horse that day then she started to lose a bit of form,” O’Prey said. “I have put the blinkers on her for the first time and removed the visor so I’m expecting her to run well.”

O’Prey’s only other starter on Monday is Burton Street ($8.50) who has a wide draw in gate 13 for the Choices Flooring Wodonga Maiden (1400m) Burton Street has only raced four times for two seconds and O’Prey hopes the gelding can settle and not over race at his first attempt at the distance.

“As long as he doesn’t overdo it and saves his energy he is fit enough to run the 1400 metres,” he said.

Trainer Phil Sweeney will have his eyes all over the field in the Boss Better Living Systems Benchmark 58 (1175m) Sweeney will saddle up three of the 13 starters including impressive last start Albury winner Come Get Me ($5). His other runners are Beaujeen ($34) and Happy Lad ($18).

The Albury track is rated a Soft 7.

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