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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Damien Lane has his fingers crossed that the owners of consistent mare Veravino can be rewarded with an overdue win at Hawkesbury on Wednesday.

Trainer Damien Lane (Pic: Bradley Photos)

The five-year-old has only raced eight times, making her debut back in December 2021, and while she’s recorded four placings the fact she's been so sparingly raced tells you there’s been a few speed bumps.

Veravino has been placed in two of her three starts since she bled in a race at Scone last May and Lane feels the XXXX Gold Midway Handicap (1100m) is her best chance this preparation.

“She’s had a few little issues along the way,’’ Lane said.

“She’s had some knee problems, she bled once and had to be spelled. So she hasn’t really had every opportunity but this preparation she’s been doing everything right.

“It’s probably the most suitable race she’s found for a while I would have thought.”

Lane prefers to keep Veravino, $3 with TAB on Tuesday, a little on the fresh side but a five week gap going into her last start second behind Reasonable on her home track on Australia Day might have found her out.

That won’t be an excuse this time around.

“It takes her a while to get over them so she is better a little on the fresh side. I thought her run at Wyong was really good,’’ he said.

“The rail was out, the winner led on the fence and we drew wide and sat outside.

“She probably did look like she had it covered but she was a bit longer between runs that time and probably peaked on her run a bit. So back to the 1100m is a positive.

“We’ll roll forward and maybe sit outside lead and she should get her chance.”

A bit of rain around this week will give Pluckten his chance to stage a form reversal after finishing last at his second run back from a spell, at Wyong’s The Lakes race meeting.

While he was a little outclassed in that Benchmark 72 Saturday grade race, the four-year-old will strike suitable conditions in the Richmond Club Handicap (1400m).

His last win came on a heavy track at Hawkesbury back in July.

“We’ve been waiting for a wet track for him, and the wetter the better,’’ Lane said.

“Up to the 1400m suits and the wet track will be a big positive for him.

“He pulled up quite jarred up after his last run, it was pretty hard that day and he didn’t stretch out at all when the gates opened.

“You need to put a line through that, we’ve learned you’ve got to just run him on the softer tracks.”

The Wyong trainer’s third acceptor at Hawkesbury, Sneaky Sofia, is an unlikely runner if the track remains on the soft to heavy side.

Veravino runs second at Wyong on January 26

The filly was a first-up winner at Port Macquarie but didn’t fire on wet ground at Rosehill a month ago and Lane said there are alternatives for her later in the week and at the weekend.

“We ran her the other day on a wet track and she just didn’t handle it,’’ he said.

“She dipped and dived. I thought she would handle it to be honest but we have other options.”

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