Unbeaten mare Tennessee Bound set for Sandown debut

Jockey wearing blue‑white checkered silks and green helmet rides brown horse on a race track, number 8 banner in background.

Tennessee Bound would be a strong contender for favouritism in the race she is nominated for at Caulfield, however, Ciaron Maher prefers to maintain his careful approach with the still unbeaten mare.

The four-year-old is therefore most likely to make her next appearance in Wednesday’s 1200-metre Evergreen Turf Handicap at Sandown.

The 78-rated mare is nominated for Saturday’s $150,000 benchmark 78 contest over 1100m at Caulfield. However, she is eligible for Wednesday’s $50,000 BM74 event carrying 59kg, with the benefit of Jabez Johnstone’s 3kg claim, a factor Maher’s assistant trainer Jack Turnbull admitted was difficult to overlook.

“We won’t try to jump too many bars in a row with her, we’ll just go up in slight increments,” Turnbull said.

“She’s done nothing wrong since the last win. She’s an exciting prospect, she had a nice gallop away last week with Blake Shinn on, and he was very fond of her.

“She looks like she’s improved. We could have gone to Saturday, but the programming allowed us to hopefully notch another win before going to an 84.”

Tennessee Bound, a daughter of Written Tycoon who races in Gerry Ryan’s Limerick Lane colours, is aiming for her fifth consecutive victory to commence her racing career.

She progressed from a Kyneton maiden to a Caulfield Heath BM66 in her initial campaign, also securing wins in BM62 grade at Cranbourne, prior to her first-up triumph in benchmark 70 grade on Caulfield’s Heath track.

Tennessee Bound has drawn barrier three for Wednesday’s 14-horse race, where she was installed as the $1.85 favourite on Tuesday morning.

Another daughter of Written Tycoon that the Maher stable is likely to steer towards a more manageable option is Signature Scent, who is set to have her initial run since Anzac Day at Caulfield.

The three-year-old filly is entered for the $200,000 Group 3 Sir John Monash Stakes (1100m), but is more likely to contest the $150,000 fillies handicap over 1100m.

Signature Scent was given a freshen-up following three starts in Adelaide, where she achieved a restricted level win before a Listed third placing in the Redelva Stakes (1100m) and a fifth in the Group 2 Tobin Bronze Stakes (1200m).

“The addition of blinkers was a huge help in Adelaide, got her back to being competitive at Stakes level,” Turnbull said.

“She only had two weeks off, so she’s got a lot of residual (fitness), been in training not so long and she’s just had that one jumpout last week, so she’s in good order.”

Punters looking to get involved can explore the leading Australian betting sites for the best racing odds.

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