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By Ray Hickson

You could forgive trainer Mark Gee for being a little unsure what to expect from Fourth Spargo when she walked back into his yard last month.

Mark Gee with Fourth Spargo (Pic: Bradley Photos).

While he educated and pre-trained the mare at no stage did he ask her to break into a gallop so was surprised when she didn’t light up the training track prior to her stable debut earlier this month.

But it was a winning one so Gee will go into Fourth Spargo’s assignment in the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club Handicap (1020m) at Moruya on Sunday with a bit more confidence.

“She’s certainly a horse we’re familiar with but I’d only trot and cantered her, I’d never galloped her,’’ Gee said.

“I wasn’t overly excited when I gave her the first gallop, so we decided to go off her form and not her work and she raced quite well.

“She might be one of those horses that races better than she works which is good. Her form suggested that was probably going to happen in a race like she found first-up.”

Gee trains out of Meringo Stud on the south coast, after educating Fourth Spargo she started her career with Gabrielle Ellis then moved to Bjorn Baker.

He said when it was decided she didn’t appear to be a city class horse the logical move was to send her back home and he’d like to think she can hold her form after she made light work of a Class 2 over the same track and distance on August 5.

“She eats really well, she’s gone to the track once since her last start and we’ve kept her ticking along the same way hoping to get a similar result,’’ he said.

“She’s got ocean views from her paddock, we’ve taken the attitude fresh is best and it seemed to work for the first run.

“I’m not too disappointed being drawn out, she probably appreciates a bit of room and with the cutaway and the way the track’s been playing we ride for a bit of luck out there.

“She’s still a Class 2 mare carrying 59.5kg, she looks a nice horse going forward but you never take your opposition too lightly.”

Fourth Spargo was $2.90 with TAB on Saturday.

Stablemate Kool Bird let Gee down a bit last preparation but he’s hopeful she can make a positive return from a short break in the Moruya Golf Club Handicap (1020m).

The five-year-old is a 12 start maiden but he hasn’t given up hope of a breakthrough this preparation and after concluding she didn’t come up gave her a two month break.

Fourth Spargo wins at Moruya on August 5

“She just wasn’t finishing her races off, she’s well enough but she’s a horse that should have won a race by now in my opinion,’’ he said.

“I think she will win a race, whether it’s Sunday I don’t know. We’ve kept her nice and fresh off the back of a month off.”

All the fields, form and replays for Sunday’s Moruya meeting