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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Matthew Smith has an inkling honest mare Pioneer Lass may be able to stretch to a middle distance this campaign but for the time being he’ll happily settle for a second-up win over a mile at Warwick Farm on Wednesday.

The six-year-old returned from six months off the scene with a placing at Hawkesbury a couple of weeks ago and while beaten five lengths at 1400m the trainer said he knew going in there’d be improvement.

So he’s expecting Pioneer Lass to build on it in the Inglis Classic Sale 9-11 Feb Handicap (1600m).

“She’s good at the mile and she’s looking like she might run a good 2000m this time in,’’ Smith said.

“She’s won over 1800m and one day at Canterbury she ran well over 1900m after getting back a long way, I just feel like she’d run 2000m. But if she’s okay at a mile that’s fine.

“It’s a good race for her. I thought it was a good run the other day, it looked the run that would bring her on nicely and she can go to the mile now.”

Pioneer Lass runs third at Hawkesbury on November 21

Molly Bourke, fresh from recording her first stakes victory at Rosehill last weekend, has the ride on Pioneer Lass ($3.40 with TAB on Tuesday) in a race that is for apprentice jockeys only and the Warwick Farm trainer hopes to make some use of a cushy barrier.

Smith said while the mare’s second-up form doesn’t make for great reading when you look at the numbers it’s worth noting that last preparation she ran third in the Group 3 Belle Of The Turf over 1600m at her second run in.

“I don’t think she has to be back, from a good draw she can be third or fourth or fifth,’’ he said.

“There’s no reason to go back in a smallish field. The track should have a bit of give in it as well, I think she’s well placed there.”

Bourke also rides stablemate Split Decision in the Pinatubo First Yearlings Handicap (1000m) and Smith hopes she has better fortune than she encountered at Moonee Valley last start.

She failed to beat one home in a 1000m dash but Smith said on her previous effort there, and her first-up run behind Pisanello, she’s more than capable of featuring with just 53.5kg on her back.

“She wasn’t great the other day in Melbourne, I don’t know what happened there,’’ he said.

“She missed the start and never got into the race. She’s always a bit of a worry in the gates so hopefully she can get away cleanly and she’ll be okay.

“The run before she was unlucky not to win so on the right day she can knock one of these over, she just needs things to go right.”

All the fields, form and replays for Wednesday’s Warwick Farm meeting