Clarken Racing eyeing off wins in two states this weekend

WILL Clarken and Niki O’Shea have a quartet of three-year-old fillies who look perfectly placed across two states this weekend.

LA DANSEUSE ROUGE winning the Tobin Brothers Celebrating Lives Handicap at Ladbrokes Park Hillside in Springvale, Australia.
LA DANSEUSE ROUGE winning the Tobin Brothers Celebrating Lives Handicap at Ladbrokes Park Hillside in Springvale, Australia. Picture: Racing Photos

They've opted for Moonee Valley tonight with the talented Boognish who was set to run a short-priced favourite at Morphettville on the Parks tomorrow, but is instead marked a $2.20 favourite from a perfect barrier in Melbourne with Jamie Kah booked to ride.

"She's been going well, she's been unlucky,'' Niki O'Shea said.

The stable has gone the other way with Sweetened who will stay in Adelaide and has drawn an inside gate in what looks a strong sprint race on the Parks on Saturday.

Sweetened finished second behind La Danseuse Rouge in the Listed Lightning Stakes at her debut for the stable and comes out of the Wylie Handicap, O'Shea said the tempo and track pattern would be crucial to her chances.

"You can't fault her, she hasn't done a lot wrong,'' O'Shea said.

"She gets back and needs a bit of luck. She has been a little bit unlucky her past couple,'' he said.

Former New South Wales mare Episodic will run favourite early in the day in Adelaide having been runner-up at her two South Australian starts.

"There is no reason why she can't win,'' O'Shea said.

And they'll have another filly battling for favouritism later in the day with Sixteen Reasons who comes off a Morphettville win beating The Great Baby.

"She might get a bit of confidence from the other day,'' O'Shea said.

"She didn't really know how to finish it off."

"She's been second a lot, this is a harder race, but she should be in the mix again,'' he said.

The stable take three horses to Port Lincoln on Sunday and will have the one runner at Gawler on Monday.


Racing and Sports