Melbourne jockey Mark Zahra will be hoping for a breakthrough Randwick win when he teams with the Darren Weir-trained topweight Palentino in Saturday’s $1 million Epsom Handicap.
Zahra has ridden four winners in Sydney but all have been recorded at Rosehill.
However Zahra is still yet to taste victory at Randwick from 19 rides although this could change on Saturday as he partners Palentino who is presently second favourite in the Group 1 Epsom Handicap.
Zahra’s Randwick stats are a blimp on his overall record as the 34-year-old has ridden more than 1000 winners including seven G1 wins among more than 70 black type victories since he started his riding career as an apprentice in his home state of Western Australia in 1996 before moving to Victoria.
Zahra has capitalised on his partnership with Palentino and his links with leading trainers Darren Weir and Robert Smerdon.
Nearly 40% of Zahra's 110 winners from what was a career best season in 2015/16 were under the care of Smerdon and Weir.
Palentino has given Zahra two G1 wins at Flemington this year in the Australian Guineas and the Makybe Diva Stakes at his latest start on September 10 where he beat stablemate Black Heart Bart, subsequent winner of last Saturday’s Underwood Stakes at Caulfield.
“He went well in them. It just might help on Saturday,” Weir reported.
Michelle Payne rode Palentino in the jumpout.
Damian Lane is another Victorian jockey anxious to register his first Randwick win in the Epsom when he rides the import Dibayani for the Hayes/Dabernig training partnership.
Lane has had only had 15 rides in Sydney including nine at Randwick for one placing.
Dibayani would also mark a long overdue first Epsom win for a horse representing the Hayes family and Lindsay Park stable.
The late Colin and Peter Hayes, David Hayes as well as Tony McEvoy have never trained an Epsom winner under the Lindsay Park banner despite a history of starters going back to the 1970s.
David Hayes trains Dibayani in partnership with his son Ben Hayes and nephew Tom Dabernig and has high hopes the seven-year-old import can end the family drought after his solid form in two lead-up races.
Dibayani was a closing runner-up first up in the G3 Aurie’s Star Handicap (1200m) at Flemington on August 6 and did not start again until September 3 when he finished third in the G2 Tramway Stakes (1400m) at Randwick behind Epsom rivals Hauraki and Le Romain.
