Latest News

By Ray Hickson

First and second is trainer Cody Morgan’s aim with talented gallopers Edit and Wren’s Day in Sunday’s $50,000 Newhaven Park Country Championships Wild Card (1400m) at Scone and it’s the only result he’ll be satisfied with.

Trainer Cody Morgan (Pic: Bradley Photos)

The Tamworth trainer already has Anethole safely in next month’s $500,000 Final at Royal Randwick, courtesy of his win in the Hunter & North West feature on March 6, but for varying reasons he hasn’t produced his ‘big guns’ until the eleventh hour.

Wren’s Day is the highest rated horse in the Wild Card, with a 100 rating, while Edit was equal favourite for the Final when TAB markets opened but they didn’t contest the Tamworth race due to a wet track and wide gate respectively.

Morgan said the duo have always been his main Country Championships hopefuls but concedes with the strength of the race everything will need to fall into place.

“The owners have been incredibly patient and I hope that I can reward them with a one-two finish,’’ Morgan said.

“If feel I have the best two horses in the race and I’m sure they can win plenty of races going forward. They are both as well as I can have them going to Sunday.

“I’m really happy to see a dry track, it will just give them their opportunity if they’re good enough on the day to qualify.

“You look at their form and think they are probably the two that should qualify but Wren’s Day hasn’t raced for 48 weeks and will have to turn up and do it, and with Edit he’s drawn out.

“He’s going to be spotting a horse like Banju a big start. They’re going to have to be at their best to qualify.”

Edit won at his debut for Morgan back on September 27 then produced an eye-catching fourth in the $1.3m The Kosciuszko (1300m) on TAB Everest Day and was only beaten five lengths by Eduardo and Lost And Running in the Classique Legend Stakes (1300m).

He was rested with the Country Championships in mind and Morgan said the horse is ready to go and while he’s happy for Aaron Bullock to ride 1kg over he can only point to the barrier draw as a source of concern.

“I don’t think the pace will be too much of an issue. I’d be more confident with Edit if he’d drawn where Wren’s Day has drawn (six),’’ he said.

“As far as their trackwork is concerned if you didn’t know them you’d go to the races and back Wren’s Day because Edit doesn’t do a lot at trackwork.

“But every time we’ve stepped him out under race conditions he’s hit the line.

“He’s not an easy horse, Aaron’s riding him a kilo over but I felt a kilo versus someone who knows him is a big plus.”

The duo hold sway at the top of TAB betting on the Wild Card (as at Friday) with Edit $3.50 favourite and Wren’s Day at $4.40 and they are $11 and $18, the two shortest priced unqualified horses, in the Newhaven Park Country Championships Final on April 2.

Edit wins a trial at Tamworth on February 22

Morgan said, if anything, the extra two weeks from the Hunter & North West event has benefited Wren’s Day who will be first-up since he ran second in the Tamworth Cup (1400m) in April last year.

“He’s been off a long time and it’s given me a chance to give him two more strong gallops. He looks incredibly well,’’ he said.

“You look at his rating of 100 and think if he’s 90 per cent on the day it’s hard for other horses to give him 25 rating points and meet him at equal weights.

“The ownership group have let me give him four trials and he’s been in work five months for one race so hopefully he can go down there and run well for them.”

All the entries, form and replays for Sunday's Country Championships meeting at Scone