SUPER consistent Sanctimonious is almost certain to be trainer Helen Burns’ only entry in this year’s bet365 Swan Hill Cup Carnival, expected to go around in a 1600m race on the Saturday.
Stablemate It’s A Sahara has been in the paddock since last November, only coming back into work in the past 8-10 weeks, and Burns concedes it might be “a bit tough” expecting the six-year-old mare to shine in the Carnival.
“There is an 1100m race tomorrow which I had nominated for but was not sure if she would make it,” Burns says.
Sanctimonious is another story – six runs into the current prep and the seven-year-old gelding was a winner in May, and also had three placings from his first six starts, taking his to four career wins and six placings.
“He pulled up very well after his win at Warracknabeal and had a seventh run at Bendigo last Saturday (finishing well back in a tricky race) but I still think he will be in tip-top order for his outing tomorrow,” Burns says.
“He’s a very honest horse who always has a go and, this time in, has been thereabouts in every start so he will be worth watching I think.”
The small Swan Hill stable is currently looking forward to its next generation of horses, which are already in training.
Burns says she has four young ones she thinks she will bring in after the carnival.
Two of them are likely to start as two-year-olds but she thinks the others might take a bit longer to be prepared.
“You can plan for it but you never know how they are going to turn out until the going gets a lot more serious,” she adds.
