Murray looking to make a Winning Point

An underrated six-year-old provincial mare can announce herself as a real Canberra Cup contender when she tackles the Preview battle at Thoroughbred Park this Friday.

Winning Point, a daughter of Bull Point in the Paul Murray stable at Kembla Grange, has only won three times from 31 career starts, but she heads to Canberra with all the right credentials to break a winning drought that stretches back more than two years.

On what is an absorbing and tactical entree ahead of the Listed main course on Sunday, March 8, Friday's race is expected to be a slowly run affair, with little if any early speed in the race.

Locally-trained and well weighted mare Burgundy Girl, a dominant last start BM 66 winner at the Sapphire Coast, may even roll to the front.

Drawn further out in a field of nine, another Kembla visitor in five-year-old Captain Fenkel who has been tackling deeper metropolitan races will also likely roll forward.

That should leave Winning Point settling a few lengths back and off the fence, and primed to make her run from the 600m.

She closed off well enough last start in a BM 64 at Kembla, beaten only two lengths behind Mr Fabulous, and carrying 2kg more than she does in Canberra.

And the significant drop back 400m in trip has been off-set by 23 days between runs.

Despite her modest strike rate, which includes a further seven placings often without luck, Winning Point's form is set to slide under the market radar.

She worked home well four starts back over 1800m to finish under a length from the winner on the Kensington track before not being suited from the back in a tougher race on the smaller and tighter turning Canterbury course.

Given nearly four weeks off into the New Year, she has twice found the line late at Kembla when coming from the second half of the field over 2400m.

Admittedly a dour type, this is the lightest weight she's carried outside of metropolitan company in a long time, and don't be surprised if jockey Chad Lever is off and running from the trail well before the turn if the speed is dawdling.

Naturally, Burgundy Girl who continues to build a solid record is among the prime local hopes, while Hawkesbury-based Semper Fortis who steps up from a handy run in Midway company over a mile at Randwick in his first outing for more than nine months, looms as a big market watch.

Friday's meeting will be run on a Good 4, with the rail True.

My Canberra Cup Preview Selections:

1. WINNING POINT

2. Burgundy Girl

3. Captain Fenkel

4. Semper Fortis