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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Tracey Bartley is sure he’s made the right choice by kicking off Bare Naked Lady’s Scone Guineas campaign at Wyong on Thursday.

The filly was an acceptor for Gosford a day earlier but Bartley felt the NBN News Handicap (1100m) on her home track is a better fit as he plots a path to next month’s Scone carnival.

“It looked an easier race and she has a 1.5kg lighter,’’ Bartley said.

“I can’t fault her, she was flying last prep and she was actually going to Melbourne but she got hurt on the float so I had to put her in the paddock.

“She has plenty of residual fitness and has had one trial back and she’s ready to go again.’’

Bare Naked Lady won the two-year-old Inglis Challenge at last year’s Scone carnival and showed she’s a horse on the way up chasing home Rosina Kojonup at Warwick Farm back in December before she had to be spelled.

Bare Naked Lady runs second in a Gosford trial on March 26

Bartley is enthusiastic about the preparation ahead and said jockey Tim Clark gave a glowing report from her barrier trial at Gosford on March 26 where she finished a close second to Reginae.

“I think we might have been going better, the winner had a good shake up and we just gave her a nice trial without knocking her about,’’ he said.

“Tim said she felt enormous and felt he was going better than the winner.

“She has a fair bit of upside, we haven’t gutted her. There’s exciting times ahead for her, she’s well bred and we really want to get some black type behind her name.’’

Another local Trumbull, trained by Kim Waugh, is the $1.75 favourite with TAB while Bare Naked Lady is considered the major threat at $4.80.

The path to the $300,000 Inglis Guineas (1400m) on May 11 will take Bartley to the Hawkesbury metro meeting on April 27 but he revealed she won’t contest the Guineas there instead aiming at a 1300m benchmark race.

“I won’t throw her in the Guineas at Hawkesbury because the run over the 1300m is what she’ll need and puts her in good rhythm to go to Scone,’’ he said.

Bartley has Miss Redouble on track for Saturday’s $500,000 Polytrack Provincial Championships Final (1400m) at Royal Randwick.

The winner of the Kembla Grange Qualifier, as a $51 chance, drew ideally in barrier five but is still considered an outsider at $26 with TAB.

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