Harrison takes momentum into spring racing season

With recent successes on the track, including a strong placing at Dubbo over the weekend, local trainer Melissa Harrison is looking to continue that run into prime spring racing season. The stable’s good form included a Cup double to Glowing Rapids, which won the Gulargambone Cup in August and the Mendooran Cup on 5 September, as well as a second for Bobby's Secret in Dubbo's $50,000 Showcase Picnic Sprint Championship last weekend. Melissa will return to Dubbo this weekend, taking Mind Battlefield, Don'tdoubtdagoose and Symphonite to compete in Dubbo Turf Club's long weekend race day. Melissa said she is expecting a good showing from Mind Battlefield this weekend, while Don'tdoubtdagoose and Symphonite will make their first NSW starts for the stable. She will back up the Dubbo trip by heading to Cootamundra on Sunday 4 October with Glowing Rapids. The local stable will have a strong showing at the local races on Saturday 10 October, with Melissa planning to enter six runners in the Forbes Spring Races including Bobby's Secret, Pattera and Azucar. After 22 years of training, Melissa said one of the things she enjoys most about working with horses is that they all have different personalities. Long hours and early starts are all part of the job, with the stable's 15 horses - and another three on the way - worked six days a week on the track. "That's how they get fit and ready to go," she said. "Whether it's slow work or fast work it just depends on what day it is and what they're racing." When it comes to choosing which races to target, Melissa said the horses themselves often gave her the answer, with each built differently and suited to different distances. Look out for the local runners on Spring race day at Forbes.