Caitlin Johnson has embraced the opportunity since entering into partnership with Fred Pratt over the past 18 months and the Hastings trainers are hopeful for a strong showing at their local meeting on Thursday.
The stable will be represented by recent acquisition Written Up in the Carrfields Livestock Handicap (1200m), the gelding nearly making a winning debut under Pratt and Johnson when being caught in the shadows of the post last start at Hastings.
“He ran quite well, he had the weight off his back on a heavy track there, so we’ve kept Crystal Lindsay on board this time around,” Johnson said.
“He’s pretty relaxed most of the time at home, he just goes out and does his job really.
“He’s got a good draw (4) tomorrow, so hopefully he can go one better.”
Complacent mare Paradis has run consistently at maiden grade since her debut in November, with three placings including a narrow second to Quid at Trentham two-back where she was, similar to her stablemate, run down in the final bounds.
She will step back from an attempt out of grade to contest the Davmet Maiden (2100m), with apprentice Jessica Allen claiming two kilograms off her 56.5kg impost.
“She’s been working well, she’s had plenty of walking in the afternoon as with the mud in the paddocks she appreciates getting outside in the day,” Johnson said.
“We’re hoping for a placing at this stage of her preparation, we’ve been struggling to find a good race for her with the races being few and far between.
“She’s one that hopefully will go from strength to strength as she matures a bit more.
“We have had blinkers on since her first start, then last start we thought we would try her without them because we felt she may have gotten beaten because she couldn’t see that horse (Quid) coming down the outside.
“We think she just didn’t concentrate without them, so we’ll put them back on to keep her on the job. She seems to settle better with them as well.”
Johnson has fond memories at her home course, having picked up her first winner in She’s Miss Gevious at the 2022 spring carnival, but had been involved with the stable for some time prior to joining Pratt in the training role.
“I did a lot of hacking around with various types of horses, I was with a Morgan trainer out in the country but the first horse I owned was a thoroughbred and they have always been my passion,” she said.
“I felt very privileged to be given the honour of coming on as trainer.
“Fred’s was the first racing stable that I was able to get my foot in the door, I didn’t really know how to go about getting into the industry prior to that.
“When I met Fred, he gave me an opportunity and has taught me a lot and I’ve worked very hard to get here so I appreciate every moment of it.”
The pair keep a small team in work near the track with a couple of younger members nearing the start of their racing careers in the new season.
“We’re based in Hastings, operating out of the Wall Road base, and we’ve got some nice, young stock coming through that we’re hopeful for,” Johnson said.
“We have a couple of yearlings and three two-year-olds that we’re hoping to catch some early three-year-old races with.
“We have six in work, and as of next week we’ll have another three. We are a small stable, but we do our best with what we’ve got.”
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