Neil EvansJuly 5, 2026 — 5:15pmA tough and still lightly raced Canberra mare is set to reward connections’ faith when she tackles the highest graded country race of her career in Wagga on Monday.Vinolass, a six-year-old daughter of Supido, has only raced four times in 13 months after a long break starting in June last year.Keith Dryden, trainer of Vinolass .GettyBack then, she was going well enough to be competitive in Saturday Class 3 Highway company, but was spelled for the rest of the year and well into 2026 after a series of physical setbacks.But she came back with an encouraging run, closing off late in the feature Flatknacker over 900m during the Albury carnival. Vinolass then failed in BM 72 Mares’ company at the provincials before reloading a month later with another eye-catching finish in BM 74 grade at Wagga.Five weeks ago, she announced her best wasn’t far off, powering home on a very heavy surface in a strong BM 66 Handicap over 1000m.That was enough to convince connections she was ready for a tougher and very competitive BM 82 Handicap test, staying over the five furlongs.Certainly patience is befitting of this mare, being in the stable of long-time Canberra-based trainer Keith Dryden who surprisingly hasn’t won at the Wagga circuit for a long time.In what could prove a strong form race heading deeper into winter, Vinolass opened around $5.50 in early betting, well behind resuming Albury mare One Hard Lady ($2) and Goulburn mare Sparklenglitter ($4.20).Vinolass is part of another strong Canberra team heading to the Riverina.The Dryden and Libby Snowden yard also has talented filly Rockabye Roxy ($3) ready to run a big race third-up in a Maiden Handicap over 1400m.Supplied by Racing NSWFrom our partners