Grafton Preview November 21st 2017
  Story By Melesa White     

Monday, 20 November 2017: Jockey Terry Treichel has already ridden several winners for Glen Innes trainer Paddy Cunningham since he resumed riding earlier this month and they are hoping to add to that tally at Grafton on Tuesday.

Treichel recently returned from nine months on the sidelines after a fall at Lismore back in February which left him with several injuries, including broken ribs, a broken collarbone, and several dislocated vertabrae.
He resumed at the Coffs Harbour meeting on November 7 and rode his first comeback winner at Grafton the following day on the Cunningham-trained Love Me Baby. He followed that up with wins on other Cunningham runners - Lucky Rhythm at Armidale on November 12 and Hula Girl at Inverell on November 18.
Love Me Baby  heads Cunningham's team at Grafton on Tuesday and the trainer is happy to stick with Treichel rather than book a claiming apprentice despite the mare's allotted 62.5kg in the Daily Examiner Benchmark 65 Hcp (1000m).
"She's gone up quickly to 62.5kg - that's the way it is with this current ratings system in place - but I'm happy to stick with Terry," he said. "It's only a 1000m race - if it was a bit further I probably would have gone with an apprentice."
Formerly with Sydney trainer John Sargent, Love Me Baby was purchased by her current owners earlier this year and transferred to Cunningham.
A four-year-old mare by Foxwedge, Love Me Baby had her first run for Cunningham when she resumed for an impressive win in the CRJC Life Membership Class 3 Hcp (1000m) on November 8 - a race the trainer was delighted to win as he was previously based at Grafton for many years.
"We set her for that race first-up and she did the job very well and ran good time which they can do at Grafton when conditions are right," said Cunningham.
Carrying 58kg that day, Love Me Baby scored by just over two lengths in the fast time of 56.58, not far off the track record of 56.49.
That win was the mare's fourth win from 11 starts and her third victory from four runs over the 1000m.
Treichel also rides Cunningham's Love Time in the Maiden Plate (1400m) and Lucky Rhythm in the Class 1 Hcp (1400m) at Tuesday's seven-race meeting.
Love Time  ran an improved race last time when a first-up third at Grafton on November 8 while Lucky Rhythm is coming off a last-start Maiden win at Armidale over 1400m on November 12.
"Lucky Rhythm appreciated getting up to the 1400m at Armidale but a lot of them find it hard to step up to a Class 1 at their next start," he said. "Love Me Baby is clearly the pick of my runners."
Gold Coast three-year-old Eisemann, a last-start impressive Grafton Maiden winner, steps up to the Benchmark 60 Hcp (1200m) on Tuesday. The race is a heat of the Rising Star Series for apprentice riders and Horiyuki Masuda, who claims 1.5kg, takes over from Paul Hammersley who partnered the three-year-old to a very impressive first-up win over 1100m at Grafton on November 8.
Trained on the Gold Coast by Toby Edmonds, Eisemann made a one-act affair of the Maiden, striding home to score by almost four lengths in a very slick time of 1.02.95.
It was just the second start for the promising son of Commands and the Falbrav mare Irish Dream, a six-time winner on the racetrack, including the 2012 Listed Winter Stakes at Warwick Farm.
The rail for Tuesday's meeting will be in the true position and the track on Monday was rated a good4.





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