Provincial Double Gets Bartley Off To A Flyer

Sun Herald

Sunday November 25, 2007

By John Schell Kembla Grange

GROUP 1-winning trainer Tracey Bartley's move to Hawkesbury produced immediate dividends yesterday when he prepared a winning double from his only two runners.

Bartley, a former jockey, prepared gun galloper Sniper's Bullet to win the $1 million Stradbroke Handicap in Brisbane this year. He still has his Mudgee stables from where Sniper's Bullet was prepared for that victory.

But Bartley recently branched out to Hawkesbury, where he has 26 horses in work. He has 20 in training at Mudgee, from where he watched the races on television yesterday.

"It's fantastic for us all," Bartley said after Disrepute and Spectacular Iam won the first two events.

"I'm really proud of the staff, it's been a big team effort."

Disrepute ($2.60) was highly impressive when having his first run back since a fifth in the Wellington Boot in April.

The Marechal gelding raced on the speed before dashing clear in the straight to score by 23/4 lengths in the WIN TV Maiden Plate.

Disrepute, ridden by apprentice Daniel Edmonds, accounted for Rolling Symbol ($2.35 favourite), which made it six seconds from 12 starts, with 31/4 lengths to Erins Princess ($51) in third spot.

"We didn't pay a lot of money for him, we got him for $4000, and he looks like he's going to win in town," Bartley said of Disrepute.

Edmonds completed the double for Bartley when guiding Spectacular Iam ($2.10 favourite) to an all-the-way win in the Red V Is Part Of Me Handicap.

Spectacular Iam was resuming from a spell but fought on strongly when challenged to win by a half-length from Dizzy Rocking ($6), with a similar margin to Photograph ($51) in third place.

"He looked like he was gone but once Daniel put the stick away, it balanced him up a bit," Bartley said.

"He worked ordinary on a soft track at Hawkesbury on Tuesday and I didn't think he'd handle it today, but he certainly did."

Bartley said fitness was not a concern for his runners yesterday and put that down to the equine influenza outbreak in NSW, which his horses managed to avoid.

"Because of the EI these horses have had two preparations without racing, that is why they are so fit," he said.

Bartley will be out to maintain the momentum next Saturday when racing returns to Sydney at Randwick. He has two horses pencilled in to run at the meeting.

"We'll have two runners at Randwick, Vaults, which ran third yesterday [Friday] in a trial at Rosehill . . . then I've got a filly called Coast To The Post. She's not a big filly so we've left her fresh and we will run her in a 1100m race," he said.

As for Sniper's Bullet, Bartley said the star would return to work at Mudgee next week after an extended spell and he would move to his Hawkesbury stables in January.

"He looks great and it will be good to have him back in the stables."

© 2007 Sun Herald

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