Thursday, 2 August 2012: In-form mare Erinsea gets a well earned crack at a valuable prize when she lines up in today's $80 000 Carlton Mid Coffs Harbour Cup.
 | Last Years Cup winner Brave The Way
Photo by Racing and Sports | |
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The Brett Dodson trained mare is four times a winner this campaign, twice here on her home track at Coffs Harbour and has been assessed as having shown even better form when runner up at Grafton last time out.
Her four wins came consecutively and saw her make impressive progress from a smooth success in a Benchmark 54 back in March right through to winning a Benchmark 70 in June.
Last start she stepped out in a rich Benchmark 70 at Grafton over 1400m and having settled in the back held of the field, as has been her pattern in recent times, she made a barnstorming run from back in the field to just miss, the winner going on frank that form with a good run in town.
Today Erinsea faces a tougher task and will need to improve further but she is certainly going the right way about it and is the horse on the up in this field.
Old stagers Youthful Jack and Pepperwood are probably heading in the other direction, with their best days behind them, but both are well placed back in this grade with each of them having recorded multiple stakes wins in their time.
Youthful Jack was below his best at Doomben last time out but his run prior to that at Rosehill reads very well for this. The claim sees him get in well with the eight time winner at stakes level only having to spot half a dozen kilos to far lesser performed horses.
Pepperwood has been a hard fellow to catch in recent campaigns but when the stars align he is right up to winning a race like this. Four runs back he rattled home to win at listed level at Eagle Farm and is he is able to reproduce that form today he is sure to give this a shake.
The consistent Clever Hans rates to measure right up on the back of his latest effort. He was right at his best in the listed Tatt's Mile at Eagle Farm, finishing on the heels of the placegetters, and that followed a very good runner up effort in the South Grafton Cup.
There is no reason to think he won't run right up to that form again today and prove hard to beat.
Irish Love looks to round out the chances. She was disappointing first up at Grafton, some 4.5 lengths in arrears of Erinsea, but she is capable of much better and has always taken good improvement for her first time out.
It's been over 12 months since she won a race but that latest win, beating Kontiki Park, puts her right in the mix back in this company.
