Goulburn Valley trainers Russell Jack, David Aiken and Steve O’Donoghue-Bec Bartley are chasing the big money tomorrow night in the Group 2 $75,000 Four and Five Year Old Championship at Melton.
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Jack will make a double-pronged attack on the feature.
He will be represented by Santa Casa Beach, who has drawn barrier three and will be driven by Daryl Douglas, and also Boots Electric who comes from inside the second row for reinsman Leigh Sutton.
Last start Victoria Cup winner Max Delight will fly the flag in the race for David Aiken but has an outside second row draw to contend with.
He will be partnered by Anthony Butt and not his usual reinsman Chris Alford.
The Steve O’Donoghue-Bec Bartley team will be represented by Western Sonador who has drawn the outside front row while David Moran will partner the Emma Stewart-prepared Honolua Bay from an ideal barrier two draw.
Can Kyabram-trained filly Senitas Strength upset the colts and geldings in this Sunday’s $75,000 Victoria Trotters Derby at Maryborough?
The Mick Blackmore-prepared and James Herbertson-driven filly issued a massive warning to her rivals when she returned to her best form to win her heat at Maryborough on Sunday, October 24.
Despite sitting outside the pacemaker for the gruelling 2690m, Senitas Strength proved too tough for her rivals in arguably her best career run, in which she rated a scorching 2.00.9 for the marathon trip.
Senitas Strength was one of only two fillies in her heat and now looks a major player in the final, where she will be the sole filly attempting to upstage the colts and geldings.
Her hopes of victory increased even more when she drew barrier three.
Blackmore is hoping she can go one better than he managed with another filly, Claudys Princess, who finished an unlucky second in the 2014 version of the classic.
Other Goulburn Valley-trained trotters in Sweet On You and Locksley Lover have also qualified for the derby, with encouraging third placings in their respective heats.
The John Nissen-trained and Bec Bartley-driven Locksley Lover will be lining up for only his eighth race start and has drawn barrier five off the front row.
The Patrick Ryan-prepared and Josh Aiken-driven Sweet On You has an extreme outside back row draw to contend with, so will need a lot of luck in the run.
Flying high in Ky
Mick Blackmore was one of several Kyabram and district trainers, drivers and owners to enjoy success during the past week.
Gary Payne enjoyed a win with veteran pacer Artizz at last week’s meeting at Frank Ryan Paceway in Echuca.
Payne used Artizz’s gate speed to find the front early and the eight-year-old defied all efforts to be run down over the 2160m trip.
By top sire Art Major, Artizz is a veteran of 120 starts, which have produced only the four wins but 31 minor placings, including 20 thirds.
Tongala trainer Michael Watt continued his good run of recent success with a winner at last week’s Kilmore meeting.
Watt produced four-year-old trotting mare Magic Maid for a win at only her second start in a race.
The Majestic Son four-year-old had to work hard for the early lead and kept all her rivals at bay in a determined effort.
Echuca-Moama trots enthusiasts Norm and Joan Visca own Magic Maid, who was driven to victory by James Herbertson.
Also enjoying another win with their team of pacers were Merrigum’s Greg and Jenny Pell who cheered home Group 1 winner The Pantheist in the $30,000 Group 3 Angelique Club Pace for mares at the Geelong Cup meeting on Saturday night.
Kyabram-owned Summerdays also scored another win at Globe Derby Park in Adelaide on Monday.
The Greg Caldwell-bred and owned pacer has now four races, with five seconds and a third, in 13 starts since being sent west to the stables of Ingrid and David Smith.
Crescent shines
Trotting mare Aldebaran Crescent got the feature race win she deserved and burned a few punters in the process when she claimed the True Roman Trotters Cup at the Maryborough Cup meeting last Sunday.
The David Aiken-trained and Josh Aiken-driven six-year-old daughter of Majestic Son enjoyed the run of the race on the back of the pacemaker, Sleepee, and finished strongly along the sprint lane to beat the hard-finishing Is That A Bid and the odds-on favourite Majestuoso.
Aldebaran Crescent has been thereabouts in some feature races of late and has flown under the guard of punters a bit as she did in this assignment as a 12/1 chance — and even more generous odds in some early markets.
It was her third win this season and the 12th of her career, with 14 minor placings and more than $78,000 in prize money.
Turnbulls triumph
Trainer Craig Turnbull and his driver daughter Abbey combined for three wins last week.
The Turnbulls landed a double with Abettasecret and Heritage Lady at the Echuca meeting on the Wednesday night and then scored with Jemsoms Pet at the Geelong Cup meeting on Saturday night.
Abbey was able to get the run of the race on Abettasecret, who raced keenly and was too good when he got into clear running in the home stretch.
The Turnbulls have had Abettasecret for eight runs for two wins, with the former NSW pacer’s 16-race career having produced four victories and four placings.
Heritage Lady looked the bet of the night and it turned out that way, with the Major Bronski filly outclassing her rivals to claim her fourth career win from only 10 starts.
The Turnbulls completed a good week at the Geelong meeting when Jemsoms Pet prevailed in a crowded finish over the Steve O’Donoghue-Bec Bartley-trained Mongiana in a 1.56.6 mile rate for the 2100m trip.
Jemsoms Pet had been placed in his previous three outings, so it was a well deserved win.
The four-year-old Pet Rock gelding has now won eight races, with 18 placings, and has nudged over $95,000 in prize money.
Do Not Surrender fights to the end
Shepparton trainer Isabel Walsh and Stanhope mentor Greg Lewis were other district trainers to produce winners at the Echuca meeting.
Walsh struck with Do Not Surrender, whose driver, Leigh Sutton, found clear running from three back on the pegs and rounded up his rivals with a strong finishing burst.
The win ended a run of 16 starts out of the winner’s circle for the four-year-old Bettors Delight gelding, with his previous win achieved at a Shepparton meeting early last year.
But in those 16 outings Do Not Surrender had posted 10 top-four finishes, so his win was well overdue.
Stanhope mentor Greg Lewis upset a lot of quaddie punters with the win of Junior Warfare, who was given the run of the race by reinsman Ben Gledhill and sprint-laned to victory at nice odds.
It was Junior Warfare’s fifth career win from 41 starts.
Life’s a beach
The Emma Stewart-David Moran combination enjoyed two wins at the Geelong Cup meeting last Saturday night to continue their success.
Moran steered the Stewart-trained Irish Black Label and Beach Music to impressive wins.
Beach Music put up a big run to win the Three-year-old Classic after Moran took the daughter of Somebeachsomewhere to the front after racing wide early.
Seeing double
What odds of this happening?
Two horses with the same name racing on the same day — but in different codes.
On Wednesday of last week on the Kensington track in Sydney a galloper by the name of Holstein raced.
That evening a pacer also called Holstein went around at the Echuca trots meeting.
The pacer did a lot better than the thoroughbred, finishing a close-up fourth when favourite for Shepparton co-trainers Steve O’Donoghue and Bec Bartley.
Holstein the galloper didn’t have the best of days, finishing last in a seven-horse field.
Daddy wins family duel
Talented pacer Cool Rocking Daddy returned to the winners’ list at Tuesday night’s Bendigo meeting in an ironic twist.
The Laura Crossland-trained son of A Rocknroll Dance enjoyed the run of the race on the back of the pacesetter, the Vince Vallelonga-tained Major Mal, who was driven by Laura’s son Cody, and beat that pacer in the drive to the wire.
Another concession driver, Abby Sanderson, was in the sulky behind Cool Rocking Daddy, who recorded his ninth career win — there have also been 17 minor placings — in just 46 career starts.
Abby Sanderson has a perfect record of two drives for two wins on Cool Rocking Daddy, having driven the four-year-old to win at the Maryborough meeting on June 28 with her first drive on the pacer.
Cody Crossland went close to atoning for that defeat on another of his mother’s runners, Codys Colt — named after Cody — who made a brave bid to lead all the way in a later race on the Bendigo program but had to be content with another second placing.
Laura Crossland completed a successful two days with another winner at the Shepparton meeting on Wednesday night.
The Crossland-prepared-and-driven Dessie Gee put up a big run to sit parked outside the favourite, Lochinvar Chief, and prove too strong for his rivals to record his seventh career win.
Crossland just missed landing a training-driving double at the meeting, with Delightful Nikky going down by half head.
Euroa horseman Cameron Maggs had a big night at the Shepparton meeting, with a driving double on the Peter Romero-trained pair of pacers Rambunctious and Misskontiki.
Trainers David Aiken and Donna Castles also landed winners at the meeting with Patsy Valentine and the trotter Teds Secret respectively, while Bec Bartley partnered the Rod Petroff-trained Comin In Hot to a win.
Any old price
Followers of South Australian trainer Phil Westbury would have been on good terms with themselves at the Globe Derby meeting on Monday.
Westbury would have to have created some sort of running-double price record when he produced Giftedfromtheheart and Giant Jackson for wins in successive races.
Both were driven by concession reinsman Nic Brown and opened at tote fixed odds of 150/1.
Giant Jackson was prepared to win four races by Craig Turnbull before heading west and it was his first win in South Australia.
Coming attractions
It’s Redwood Day at Maryborough on Sunday and racing returns to Cobram on Monday.
Meetings coming up:
Friday: Maryborough (d), Swan Hill (n)
Saturday: Melton (n)
Sunday: Maryborough (d)
Monday: Cobram (d), Terang (n)
Tuesday: Yarra Glen (d), Mildura (n)
Wednesday: Ballarat (n)
Thursday: Yarra Valley (d)
Friday: Bendigo (n)
Sports reporter