Bec’s favorite ready to roll on comeback

Forgotten Shepparton superstar San Carlo will take his first step back tonight as, remarkably, connections eye off a tilt at a fourth Inter Dominion series for the 10-year-old warrior.

“It’s a bit of a longshot. But he’s all good at the moment and his work at home has been terrific,” co-trainer Bec Bartley said.

“We’ve been putting him against Western Sonador and there’s not much between them, so fingers crossed.”

And it’s not a bad rap. The current headline act of the Steve O’Donoghue-Bec Bartley team at Morley Park Stud, Western Sonador (Western Terror – Refresh Me (Classic Gary) earlier this month took care of Silent Major and Wolf Stride in the Minuteman FFA at Melton. He’s the rising star of the team, having won 10 races and $133,000 in stakes (including runner-up in the Group One Newcastle Mile) in just his second season of racing.

But while Western Sonador might be the rising star, around the stables, “Murray” (as San Carlo is known) is still king, although Bartley admits he might need one or two more trials after his first hit-out at Shepparton tonight.

“He’s really big and will need a couple of trials. But he usually doesn’t take too long to come to hand,” Bartley said.

San Carlo, a rising 11-year-old, hasn’t raced for almost 12 months-his last start was an unplaced run at Bendigo on September 19 of last year.

“We were having a few minor issues with him, nothing serious, but he needed a break. He never really went out of training completely as we were still half sort of working him,” she said.

“Steve and I decided we weren’t going to push him and the plan a few months ago was to bring him up steady and see where we were at.”

Bartley doesn’t hesitate to name ‘Murray’ as her all-time favorite horse, and she has every reason to, as he was a life changer for the young horsewoman.

Apart from contesting three Inter Dominion series (including a WA heat win in 2017), San Carlo has competed in Hunter and Victoria Cups as well as the New Zealand Cup and was runner-up at the Bohemia Crystal in Sydney. He’s won country cups at Cranbourne, Warragul, Kilmore, Bendigo, Mildura, Maryborough and Yarra Glen; and 30 race victories from 63 race appearances puts him within sight of the $600,000 mark in stakes.

The NSW Inter Dominion series in November/December is also on the radar for Western Sonador.

“It would be a dream if we got to take the two of them to the Inter,” Bartley said.

“We were really happy with ‘Murphy’ (Western Sonador) at Bendigo in the Classic last Saturday night.

He hit the line hard and he’ll tighten up. We’re still looking at the Kilmore Cup on Friday week, but we’ll see how he goes this week,” she said.

By Terry Gange for Harnesslink