Narrandera trainer Ellen Bartley and driver Blake Jones are chasing back-to-back Griffith Cup wins on Saturday night, hoping bright new prospect Nerano can do what Forever Yin did last year.
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Bartley hasn't had a horse on a five-race winning streak before and would love to see Nerano stretch it to six straight in the $14,280 feature over 2150m.
The former Kiwi pacer hasn't been beaten since coming across the Tasman a couple of months ago, with three wins at the Riverina Paceway backed up with a big win at West Wyalong and then victory in his Griffith Cup heat.
"I definitely think he has improvement. He's pulled up really well since the race on Tuesday, he's eaten up and done everything that's asked of him so I'm pretty happy with the way he's going into the race," Bartley said.
Nerano has drawn nine, and will probably come from two off the back row after the emergency comes out, and Bartley says the race plan will be up to the driver.
"I'll leave it up to Blake," she said with a laugh.
"It's probably not a bad draw but we'll just see what happens at the start. There's no real instructions, not yet anyway."
Nerano beat David Kennedy's Silent Rapture by a head in the second heat. The Euroley trainer's Are Doubleyou won the first heat comfortably and a little quicker, going just under a two-minute mile rate.
Are Doubleyou has drawn the outside of the back row and Silent Rapture the outside of the front row but Bartley considers them both the big dangers.
She'd love to reward a faithful owner with a feature win, particularly after he brought Nerano to the stable.
"Mick (Boots), he's been really good to us and it would be great to get a cup for him," Bartley said.
She couldn't be happier with the way the now six-year-old has progressed.
"I watched a few of the replays of his races in New Zealand and he looked to be a bit funny-gaited. But I've worked with the farrier and we seem to have him pacing really well," she said.
"I'm really happy with the way he's improved, his manners, gate-wise and all that sort of stuff."
Bartley has also won a Griffith Cup as a driver, steering Rustys Reject to victory in 2015. Forever Yin was her first as a trainer.
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