Trots Centre: Trainer's muscled Pet ready to step up at Shep

The sky's the limit as Group 1 placegetter Jemsoms Pet resumes at Shepparton on Friday night after a highly-promising campaign last season.

Craig Turnbull’s four-year-old will start from inside the back row in the Gordon Warner Memorial Pace, with his daughter Abbey taking the reins. 

The Tatura trainer is hopeful the awkward draw won’t prove to be a headache.

“He will go really well; it is a bit of a tricky draw - we either drag back and come off or punch through and hope for a bit of luck getting off,” Turnbull said.

“I think we are drawn behind the leader but, yeah, we sort of don’t know what to do - it’s really six of one and half a dozen of the other - but if he gets any luck he will be right there at the finish.”

It took Jemsoms Pet 27 starts to win his first race, which came at Shepparton in April last year - and another nine attempts to win his second - but when everything clicked he made up for lost time.

It only took four more races for the Pet Rock gelding to win his next two for trainer Greg Lewis and, after switching to Turnbull’s stables, he won his next two in a row.

From there he progressed through to the Group 1 IRT Australia Breeders Crown Final for 3YO colts and geldings where he finished third, beaten only 7.6m by Zeuss Bromac NZ in a 1:53:7 mile rate over 2240m late last year.

Turnbull said he had come back from a spell even stronger, with two “fantastic” trials.

“He has put on a lot of weight and muscled up and done really well,” Turnbull said.

“I am really happy with him. He has shown really good improvement with the racing - the harder they go in the races the more he seems to like it, so we think he can go a fair way.”

Jemsoms Pet isn’t the only Turnbull horse resuming on Friday night, with three-year-old Abettasecret takes on a talented field in the Kensington Gardens 3YO Pace.

He said the filly, who is having her first start in Victoria since arriving from Dennis Picker's NSW stable, was working well.

“She’s come down for her (Vicbred) bonus (and) trialled really good the other night, but she is in a really hard field so we are just hoping for a nice easy run and for her to work home nice,” he said.

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