Seasons has put her trainer’s autumn carnival plans back on track, bouncing back from a first-up flop to score a determined victory at her home track of Randwick.
The mare disappointed at her return from a lengthy break when she was caught wide and finished down the track over 1000 metres at Kembla Grange last month.
Trainer Les Bridge blamed himself for the poor run and said in hindsight, it was the wrong race for the mare, who showed her true colours to claim the UNSW Handicap (1200m) on Saturday.
“A good trainer makes mistakes but learns from them,” Bridge said.
“They all gave her away off one run.
“But she is a good mare.”
Seasons ($7) drew wide but Kerrin McEvoy was able to slot her in when the field strung out in response to the genuine tempo set by favourite Kylease.
She chased down the leader and held off the late finish of Misteed ($4.20) by a short neck with Kylease ($2.70 fav) another neck away.
“I got her into a nice rhythm and she is a genuine horse, she gave me a nice kick,” McEvoy said.
“I said to Les, it would have been nice to draw a good alley and we got away with it from the outside but if she doesn’t get cover she is over-competitive.
“She was able to get that bit of a draught along today and she showed that with a nice burst coming home.”
Bridge is likely to give Seasons a short break and pick out a stakes-race target over the Sydney autumn carnival.
“I think that might be the way to go. She’s not really handling the heat,” Bridge said.
“Maybe a Group Three, something like that. She has got a good record except for one run.”
