Leading Scone stables battle for bragging rights at Tamworth

It will be a battle for bragging rights for Scone’s leading stables when they clash in an absorbing feature race at Tuesday’s Tamworth meeting.

A likely three-way betting dual awaits among two of the most successful yards in NSW country racing ahead of a benchmark 82 handicap over a mile on what is expected to be a soft 5 surface.

Upwardly Mobile (left) storms home at Newcastle recently.Credit: Getty Images

Not surprisingly, heading the market is the Rodney Northam stable with its ultra-impressive last-start class 3 Highway winner on a stand-alone Saturday at Newcastle.

Upwardly Mobile, a tough-as-teak mare, scored her fourth career win from just 14 starts when she motored home from the second half of the field over 1600m.

That win capped a run of big-finishing efforts in similar Highway company for a galloper fast becoming the iron horse of the stable.

As her name suggests, Upwardly Mobile is showing no signs of taking her foot off the pedal. Along with two victories, she has finished less than two lengths from the winner on four other occasions in her six starts since late August.

Yet, while she looks one of the better-weighted runners on the program, carrying 2kg less than she did in her Newcastle win on a 55kg limit, Upwardly Mobile’s main market rival is primed to defy a 64kg burden and strike second up.

Rematch, a sparingly raced six-year-old from the Paul Messara and Leah Gavranich stable, will return to a proven recipe to chase her first win in 10 months.

In January, as a heavily backed favourite, Rematch finished best to win a BM82 at this track and over the same trip. He then missed narrowly in a BM78 at Canterbury before losing his way through autumn in tougher Country Championship qualifying races, although luck was not on his side for most of that campaign.

After missing a place in the Orange Cup, Rematch was spelled, but signalled his renewed appetite by running home strongly to miss by a head in the Guyra Cup at Armidale 16 days ago.

Back on a bigger track over 200m further second up and drawn to get cover, Rematch is out to defy the handicapper, and then launch his own assault on Saturday Highway targets.

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The Scone battle does not stop there, though. Smart six-year-old Jacenza, a stablemate of Upwardly Mobile, was a dominant front-running BM82 winner at home two starts back.

Throw in hard-fit seven-year-old Rhythm Is A Dancer from the Cavanough yard and the improving Southerly Buster, trained by Scott Singleton, plus useful gallopers at each-way odds from Quirindi and Tamworth, and it’s a race that is set to prove a strong form reference heading into summer.

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