Progressive four-year-old Rhinestone Cowboy will continue his career in Victoria under the care of emerging trainer Joe Waldron.

 

The son of Teofilo won three of his five starts for Cambridge trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman and finished runner-up behind talented mare Concert Hall at Matamata last start.

 

The gelding was scratched from last Saturday’s Ellerslie meeting due to the downgrade in track conditions on account of heavy rain and arrived at Waldron’s Mornington stable this week.

 

“Rhinestone Cowboy arrived late on Wednesday night and he came in good order,” said Waldron, who had previously been the travelling foreman for the Baker-Forsman stable before training in his own right at Te Awamutu.

 

“He went to the races a couple of weeks ago at Matamata and was really good on a rain-affected track which he doesn’t like.”

 

Waldron has lofty ambitions for the gelding but recognises he will have to quickly elevate his rating in order to qualify for better races. 

 

“He will probably be rated 73 here, so we’ve got to aim to get his rating up a little bit, but ultimately the goal would be to get him into the Andrew Ramsden (Listed, 2800m) at the end of May,” Waldron said.

 

“It’s a ballot exemption race for the Melbourne Cup (Gr.1, 3200m) but he is probably going to need to win three Saturday races to get his rating up enough to get into that race.

 

“All going to plan he will kick off in a Benchmark 78 race next Saturday at Mornington.”

 

Waldron has made a good start to his training career in Australia after relocating across the Tasman late last year.

 

The 27-year-old trainer saddled Raspberry Beret to win at Colac earlier in the month, while I Got You and Weather With You have both been placed in town.

 

“The horses have settled in and have been running well,” Waldron said. “It was good to get the monkey off the back with a win at Colac, which I know is a long way from Flemington, but the horses have been racing great without much luck. I can’t complain with how they’re looking and how they’re running.”

 

Waldron has two runners this weekend including I Got You in the St Pat’s Cup Trophy (1400m) at Geelong on Saturday and Raspberry Beret in a Benchmark 64 over 1950m at Yarra Valley on Sunday.

 

In his two Australian starts, I Got You finished third at Caulfield and was a fast finishing fourth at Rosehill.

 

“Its a bit of a step down in class from Caulfield and Rosehill but he has drawn an outside gate (11 of 12) which is a bit tricky,” Waldron said. “As long as he gets a bit of luck in running, I think he will be very competitive.

 

“Raspberry Beret was very tough at Colac. She sat wide throughout and still won and was strong through the line which was great to see. It is her first step-up over a middle distance and hopefully there will be a decent speed so that she settles and I imagine she will find the line well again.”