The Stradbroke Handicap fortunes of in-demand apprentice Tim Bell have been revived with his booking for Sydney sprinter Shellscrape.Shellscrape's connections moved quickly to book Bell when the lightweight rider's original mount Border Rebel failed in a last-ditch bid to earn a place in the $1 million sprint field."One of Shellscrape's owners got in contact with me a day or so ago and Tim's booking was confirmed with (trainer) Chris Waller on Monday morning," the apprentice's boss Sue Grills sa
The Stradbroke Handicap fortunes of in-demand apprentice Tim Bell have been revived with his booking for Sydney sprinter Shellscrape.
Shellscrape's connections moved quickly to book Bell when the lightweight rider's original mount Border Rebel failed in a last-ditch bid to earn a place in the $1 million sprint field.
"One of Shellscrape's owners got in contact with me a day or so ago and Tim's booking was confirmed with (trainer) Chris Waller on Monday morning," the apprentice's boss Sue Grills said.
Grills trains Border Rebel, the talented four-year-old who finished second to Catapulted in a Stradbroke Handicap qualifying race at Eagle Farm last Saturday.
Border Rebel needed to win the QTC Cup to avoid a Stradbroke ballot.
The defeat, confirmed after an unsuccessful protest, ended Grills's hopes of getting Border Rebel into the Stradbroke field but Bell's call-up to ride Shellscrape at 50.5kg, will give her some reason to cheer on Saturday.
"While I'm obviously disappointed Border Rebel won't be running, at least Tim has a second shot at the race," Grills said.
Bell, 17, is based at Tamworth but attracts support from leading metropolitan stables in Sydney and Brisbane.
He is in the top 10 on the NSW jockeys' premiership with 106 winners for the season, including 24 in Sydney.
Shellscrape, beaten by Ortensia in a photo finish to the Group One Galaxy at Randwick during April, has been unplaced in two Brisbane winter carnival runs.
The colt finished eighth of 12 behind Albert The Fat in the BTC Cup before showing marginal improvement when sixth to Hot Danish in the Doomben 10,000.
Shellscrape's Galaxy defeat was the three-year-old's third close call in Group One races after earlier placings in the Coolmore Stud Stakes and Lightning Stakes at Flemington.
A winner as a two-year-old over the Stradbroke course during a Brisbane winter campaign last year, Shellscrape will be Waller's only Stradbroke runner after Stryker finished out of a place in the QTC Cup.
TAB Sportsbet has listed Shellscrape as a $41 chance with Melbourne star Whobegotyou dominating the market.
At $2.50, Whobegotyou is a clear favourite ahead of Ortensia ($7).
His stablemate Catapulted, penalised 1kg for his QTC Cup win, shares the third line of betting at $8 with Sydney filly Melito.
Melito will have to set a weight-carrying record for a three-year-old filly.
La Montagna is the most recent three-year-old filly to win the race, carrying just 48.5kg to victory in 2006.
Melito, who won the Group One TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick during the Sydney autumn carnival, has 51.5kg and will be reunited with leading jockey Corey Brown.