Schmidt strikes back with double

TALENTED apprentice Priscilla Schmidt was back in a winning groove at the Gold Coast this afternoon after recently returning from a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Schmidt has been out for most of this year after being injured in a four-horse fall at Doomben last November.
And she showed today that she had lost none of the dash that has made her one of the rising young talents among the apprentice ranks with a winning double.
Schmidt scored aboard Show Us Gold ($7) for Toowoomba trainer Ben Currie in the Southern Cross Ten Class 1 Hcp (1400m). She then combined with Gold Coast trainer Alicia Willick to score a boilover later in the afternoon when $21 outsider Little Miss Ombra led throughout in the Surfers Paradise RSL Class 2 Hcp (1200m).
Little Miss Ombra upstaged a strong betting move for the Alan Bailey-trained Brauhauser, who was backed from $3.80 to $2 favourite but was always wide and at the rear and never looked a winning hope.
Part-owner Pat Roche said a return to a dry track was the key to Little Miss Ombra’s improved showing today after her two previous unplaced runs on wet tracks.
“We gave her a little freshen up at my place at Murwillumbah before she resumed at the Murwillumbah track last start when she just didn’t handle the heavy track,’’ he said. “She was much better on top of the ground today.’’
Story: Neil Archer