Trots Centre: Mister has new master as Wickham joins Svanosio

With a tick under $250,000 in winnings to his name Mister Wickham charts a new course from tonight, though with most eyes likely to be drawn to the horse on his outside, Lochinvar Art.

The Warragul Cup winner and Inter Dominion competitor has his first start for trainer Chris Svanosio tonight in the Flying Horse Takeaway Pace, which streams at 8.32pm on Trots Vision.

Mister Wickham has crossed from Lee Evison’s stable, with the latter having trained him for 59 of his 64 starts, the exceptions being his first two starts for breeder-trainer Ross Conway and a recent stint at Menangle at the end of last year with Sonya Smith and then Tim Butt.

“I haven’t had him very long,” Svanosio told Trots Talk. “Lee Evison has trained him for most of his career and I drove him a couple of times. Lee’s pretty busy training and rehabbing a lot of thoroughbreds down south of Melbourne and he just didn’t have time to be racing Mister Wickham.

“He sent him up to me for a little while and he steps out first-up Saturday night.”

It will be no easy assignment to kick things off, with Mister Wickham to start from gate 10, directly inside Major Times and Lochinvar Art.

“It’s going to be very tough kicking off Saturday night against Lochinvar Art and Major Times, and he’ll definitely need the run, but he’s trialled quite well on Sunday at Maryborough against Sicario,” Svanosio said.

“He’s worked home really good, we will be driving him pretty quietly Saturday night hoping that he’s hitting the line, hopefully he can build into a bit of fitness in the next month.”

Owing to present restrictions that will likely happen across Saturday night hit-outs, but further down the track Svanosio is hopeful be will be a country cups contender going forward.

“We are not making too bigger plans, I’m just being guided by Lee and the owners,” he said. “He’s been a terrific horse, he’s run some really good races against the best horses the last few years.

“Obviously he’s getting on a bit, the owners just want him to have a go, hopefully he can measure up to country cups and those sort of races.”

The short-term may include several clashes with Lochinvar Art and Ride High who have, until next week at Shepparton at least, traded the Saturday night spotlight.

“They’re both fantastic horses,” Svanosio said. “I was there to watch Ride High last Saturday night, I’ve raced against Lochinvar Art early on. I remember seeing him as a two-year-old and he looked like a Derby horse, I think his three-year-old career he didn’t get one decent draw. Some of his runs as a three-year-old just had superstar stamped all over him.

“David Moran’s done a fantastic job with him, he’s a great, great horse and it will be fantastic for everyone if he can race Ride High in the next month or so.”

And Svanosio will come up against some other, at least, very, very good horses tonight in the Natures Cargo Trot, where he’ll field Magicool against Wobelee, McLovin and C K Spur.

Prodigiously talented Magicool is second-up this campaign, having run sixth on resumption at Shepparton on July 25, with Svanosio hopeful he can soon challenge the top tier trotters.

“That’s what we are aiming for,” he said. “They’ve got a bit of race fitness on their side and Magicool raced once a couple of weeks ago, he was just OK, he’s come through it pretty good, he will definitely be a bit fitter.

“I don’t think he’s quite fit enough to be beating those two horses, but I’m just hoping for an improved run. He’s really well, he’s trotting terrifically at the moment. He’ll just needs a few starts to really trim up and get back into hard race fitness.”

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