10-08-2025
Goulburn previews: Portelli's horror streak of wide barriers continues
TWO-time Golden Slipper winning trainer Gary Portelli 's horror streak of wide barriers this season has followed him to Goulburn on Monday where three of his four runners were dealt the outside alley in their respective races.
Portelli has saddled-up five starters in the 2025/26 season so far, the first two of those drew 7 of 7 and 6 of 6 in their assignments.
Portelli's Goulburn -bound quartet with each of their barriers are Zoodoo (9 of 9), Sculptor (10 of 10), Angels Cry (14 of 14) and Greygenta who was issued 12 of 16.
Zoodoo finished last in his only visit to Goulburn, on debut in January but has a more recent provincial placing to enhance his resume, followed by an excusable, distant fourth on the Canberra Acton track.
'The jockey said he didn't really appreciate that surface so he is a better chance hopefully on what will probably be a wet track, I'd imagine,'' Portelli said.
'On his run at Newcastle, he'd be competitive for sure.'
Of all Portelli's Goulburn entrants, there is no contest in which is the track specialist among them.
That honour goes clearly the way of Sculptor who shares his name with the 1983 Danehill Stakes and Brian Crowley Stakes winner.
Portelli's 2021 model's record at Goulburn is three starts for a win and a second.
'We tried him over 1300m the other day but he just raced too fiercely and flattened out and couldn't find the line so we are back to the sprint and back to a wet track hopefully,'' Portelli said.
Angels Cry ($8) meanwhile looks headed on the right trajectory for what would be her second career win at start five when she tackles the Nutrien Harcourts Benchmark Handicap (1600m) wearing the white, green crossed sashes, red sleeves and cap carried by past Portelli-trained Group 1 stars, Fireburn and Rebel Dane.
'She got beat by a pretty smart horse of Garry Lunn's at Bathurst and after she went through the line, I thought she was battling on just as strong past the line,'' Portelli said.
'I thought maybe the slower tempo of the mile might suit her.'
Portelli's final runner on Monday's card is the $30,000 Inglis Australian Weanling purchase Greygenta whose sole win thus far was a barnstorming last to first effort at Queanbeyan a week out from last Christmas.
She opened her winter campaign with career worst run at Goulburn (on a heavy (9)) before bouncing back to her best 18-days later when third at Kembla.
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DANNY Williams quest for another Goulburn Trainers' Premiership starts on Monday when two of the stable string go around in eminently winnable races.
Williams whose career highlights include the 2022 Group 1 Galaxy with Shelby Sixtysix just three starts after winning a Highway Handicap, has lost count of exactly how many local titles he has won but reckons it ''must be six or seven''.
Williams can take his career total of Goulburn winners to 148 should the lightly-raced Manwari and his nine-year-old stablemates both be successful on Monday.
Manwari will be ridden in the Maykazz Maiden (1200m) by Nick Heywood whose win tally for Williams of 46 ranks him second to Matthew Cahill (60) but above former jockey and now dual Darwin Cup winner trainer – Peter Robl – on 43.
Heywood's record on Manwari is four rides for three placings including the gelding's July 15 third at Warren when clocking in third as the $1.75 favourite.
'He seems to be a horse that has shown us enough that we feel that he is city-class but he has been very disappointing on what he has shown us on the racetrack,'' Williams said.
'We took six horses to Warren looking for a drier track and it never stopped raining the whole day.
'Albeit he got through the ground, we had him at 1200m and we took some blood leading into it and the blood said he could have done with more work.
'And he struck a wet track, it says a soft (6) but it was a lot wetter than that because they downgraded it after race one.
'He just ran out of puff.
'We have held him back for this meeting for a couple of reasons.
'We've got a lot of owners coming on Monday for (me) winning the Premiership and having a day-out and secondly, it just looked a nice suitable race for him.'
Avid breeding buffs will be interested to dissect Manwari's fascinating pedigree which was designed by well known industry figure, James Bester.
'We bought this horse because he is he has got a cross of two brothers,'' Williams said.
'His sire Menari is by Snitzel and he's out of a Hinchinbrook and Snitzel and Hinchinbrook are half-brothers.
'I am quite a fan on inbreeding and so we bought this horse based on his pedigree.'
For the record, Manwari's inbreeding is a 4 X 4 doublecross of Snippets who happened to win the Galaxy some 24 years before Williams won it with giant-killer, Shelby Sixtysix.
Speaking of 'ageless' horses, Williams makes a solid case for now nine-year-old Sapphires Son who tackles the Nutrien Harcourts Benchmark 58 Handicap over his favoured distance of 1600m.
The son of former Vinery Stud resident Pluck's last win came in the nation's capital the day before Bella Nipotina's brave salute in the $20 million The Everest (1200m).
That said, his recent form stands-up well in what is clearly an open and competitive mile race and while carrying a featherweight of 51kg after apprentice Dale Cole 's 4kg claim.
'He is very one-paced and he needs a lot to go right for him,'' Williams said.
'I've put Dale on him quite a bit because he is an easy to ride. Dale did ride him very well at Forbes bit Forbes is a track where you need to be running forward from the 600m and he just got held up a little bit longer than we would have liked.
'He looks to be best suited going out to 1600m and if we get a downgrade of the track it is only going to be to his benefit.'
