By Glenn Davis
Trainer Barry Baldwin is a great believer in the law of averages and is hopeful luck can finally swing the way of Rations when the four-year-old runs at Doomben on Wednesday.
Rations has finished second at her past four starts and will be out to shed her bridesmaid tag in the Class 1 Handicap over 2040 metres.
Baldwin believes the daughter of Outreach has been unlucky not to win her last five starts and is confident she can make a successful step up in distance to 2040 metres for the first time.
Rations - a Jim Byrne mount - is coming off a last start second to the Paul Duncan-trained Atlantic Eagle in a 1600-metre Benchmark race at the Sunshine Coast on February 6.
“It will take a game person to tip against her although she has finished third and then four seconds in a row,” he said.
“She’s been very unlucky on each occasion and has only just been beaten each time.
“She’s due for a win and we’ll be disappointed if she doesn’t do it this time.”
Rations started her run of bad luck last November when she finished third at Ipswich.
“The third was first up at Ipswich last November and she should definitely have won then,” Baldwin said.
“She came up on the inside that day and couldn’t get a run and only just got beaten.
“Since then, she’s run second four times in a row and had a lot of bad luck every time.
“When she ran second at the Sunshine Coast last time she got pushed back early on and then had to come wide and was beaten less than one length.”