Three down to one for Moody and Coleman

Skipjack will be the sole runner for Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman in a two-year-old race at Flemington after the stable scratched their two other runners.

Having accepted with Gallant Son, She Smashes and Skipjack in the VRC Member Russell Dawson Plate (1000m) on Saturday, the stable will be represented by only Skipjack.

A debut winner at Ballarat in March, Skipjack has not been seen since that stylish two-length win, although the son of Rubrick was taken to the Wangaratta trials last week, where he finished fourth over 900m.

Coleman explained a lack of grass tracks at their Pakenham base persuaded them to take the colt on a trip to the north of Victoria.

“We took him to the trials at Wangaratta for a trip away from home but to also have him on a grass track,” Coleman said.

“With all the wet weather, the majority of our jump-outs at Pakenham have been on the synthetic track lately.

“It ended up being a pretty heavy track, so we just told the jockeys who rode for us that day to look after them and he wasn’t given a really hard time.

“He’s come home, and his work has been good since then and he’s ready to go to the races again.”

Coleman said Skipjack was ready for a return to the races.

“He hasn’t put his hand up like he’s an out-and-out superstar, but he’ll be a nice little horse for us,” Coleman said.

The stable elected to scratch Gallant Son after the Written Tycoon colt was showing signs of shin soreness while a wet track will see She Smashes remain at home.

Gallant Son scored by six lengths on debut at Sale last month and the stable had been looking forward to his next outing.

“He’ll have a few weeks off. He was starting to feel his shins and there were a few little baby issues,” Coleman said.

“We’ll give him a short little freshen up and hopefully have him back in sooner, rather than later.

“He’s got a bright future, but we’ll be patient now and hopefully we’ll be rewarded later on.”