Barnes to Ride at Te Awamutu
Otago apprentice Courtney Barnes is set to make her North Island riding debut at Te Awamutu next Monday after a false start earlier this month.
Barnes, apprenticed to Shane Anderton at Wingatui, rode five days of trackwork at Maungatautari under trainers Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie as part of winning the Ashlee Mundy Scholarship.
She had taken rides at Rotorua and New Plymouth but all three horses were scratched.
However, she will go again at the apprentice riders' day at Te Awamutu, with already three rides confirmed through Ramsay.
"I'm really looking forward to riding up there. I was meant to have rides while I was up there on the scholarship but they were scratched," Barnes said.
The 19-year-old has a busy week ahead of her with rides at Riverton on Thursday, Riccarton on Saturday, Te Awamutu on Monday and Ashburton next Friday.
She is looking forward to riding the Tony and Lyn Prendergast-trained Irish Bay in Saturday's Listed $50,000 Reynolds Electrical Great Easter Stakes (1400m) at Riccarton.
"She likes wet tracks and by the sound of things, it's going to be pretty wet up there on Saturday," Barnes said.
Barnes, who has two stakes wins to her credit courtesy of the Brian and Shane Anderton-trained Dunedin and Southland Guineas winner Include, has six rides at Riverton on Thursday, rating the Anderton-trained pair of Tug O'War and Gallant Satin as the pick of her mounts.
Credit NZTR News 1/5/14 Photo credit Wild Range Photography