By Andrew Adermann
See For Yourself boasted 24 starts without a win when she arrived at the Geran Racing stables in July.
After spending her early career bouncing around the country New South Wales racing scene, The Star Witness mare was sent north after being purchased for a mere $800 by Corey Geran last year.
“I got a phone call saying that there’s a maidener down in NSW that you might be interested in,” Geran said.
“I didn’t really love the idea of buying a 24-start maidener but I looked through the form and she’d actually run a few good races.
“I thought if I could get her for the right money then I’d buy her, so I offered him $800 and he took it.
“I ended up with her on the basis that I thought she would win a maiden somewhere in the bush and would’ve been a quick turnaround on the sale price.”
In what can only be described as an unbelievable turn of events, the five-year-old mare has just wrapped up an 11-start preparation, which saw her claim not only a maiden win, but another five to boot as well as four placings.
The maiden in itself was cause for celebration for the Sunshine Coast based mother-and-son partnership; a dominant eight-length victory in Gympie last September.
See For Yourself arrived in Queensland with what was described as a ‘big personality’, but the Geran Racing team were able to harness that cheekiness and get her focused on fulfilling her potential.
“She was quite hard to ride, but my partner (and jockey) Steph Lacy had a few tricks to help overcome that,” Geran said.
“She’s quite small so we don’t work her a lot – just a bit of swimming and some galloping, and she really thrives under that.
“It’s very satisfying to buy a horse like that which has the ability but hasn’t been able to utilise it in the past.”
Following her incredible recent prep, the Geran family are looking to target the recently announced 2020 Battle of the Bush Series.
For the moment, See For Yourself is enjoying a well-earned spell in the paddock after improving her career record to a very respectable 36:6-7-1.
“When you buy a horse that’s had 24 starts, you obviously don’t expect them to win six races in a prep,” Geran said.
“To go on and do what she’s done has been amazing, and it’s been unexpected but we know she’s got some more wins left in her.”