Ruling Country Championships favourite Clear Thinking will be vulnerable when she kicks off her campaign to claim the big country double at Muswellbrook today.
The Kosciuszko winner has had a preparation co-trainer Paul Messara says is more rushed that he’d like. Coupled with a tricky barrier draw, as well as no cutaway in use, it all makes Clear Thinking’s job harder.
Clear Thinking, with Tyler Schiller aboard, wins The Kosciuszko last year.Credit: Getty Images
Clear Thinking does have some positives in the $150,000 Evergreen Turf Hunter & North West Country Championships (1280m), with champion jockey Craig Williams flying in to ride for Messara and Leah Gavranich.
“She’s very short considering we have an outside barrier, it makes things more difficult,” Messara said. “We’ll have to ride her a little bit quietly from the gate, we’ll try and slide in somewhere. She jumped well the other day at the trials so she will be as close as she can be without pushing her.”
Williams is replacing Aaron Bullock, who rode the mare in her recent trial and reported to Messara he felt she was in good order.
That gives the trainer some heart but from a timing perspective the turnaround is a lot faster than she’s used to. And, if she doesn’t qualify with a top two finish, it’s less than two weeks to the Northern Wild Card at Scone.
“I thought it was a little bit plain, but Aaron was happy with her,” Messara said of the trial. We weren’t out there to break any records because she had a 10-day back-up into the race. She’s a horse that likes three weeks between runs preferably.
“She jumped on the bridle, which is good, but I think she is going to improve on whatever she does on the weekend. If we had more time up our sleeve, it’d be wonderful, but we don’t so we’ve got to race.”
Messara and Gavranich won the 2025 Hunter & North West feature with Intervarsity who beat more fancied stablemate Know Thyself out of a placing.
