Shepparton will have just one pacer contesting the Inter Dominion Pacers Championship, which has its first round heats at Menangle tomorrow night.
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Joint trainers Steve O’Donoghue and Bec Bartley will line up Western Sonador in the third of the first-round heats.
Second-round heats are being staged at Bathurst next Wednesday night (December 1) with the third and final round of heats being hosted by Newcastle on Sunday, December 5.
The final returns to Menangle on Saturday night, December 11.
Western Sonador caught the eye with a third placing at Melton last Friday night but hasn’t been favoured by a barrier 12 draw — four off the second row — over the 2400m trip.
Avenel trainer David Aiken will be gunning for his second Inter Dominion Championship; he won with the great Lennytheshark in 2015 with three starters.
He lines up experienced campaigners Max Delight and Malcolms Rhythm and new kid on the block at this level, Reactor Now.
Reactor Now is first off the rank in heat one, where he will come from inside the second row if there are no scratchings.
Max Delight has drawn barrier 13 — five off the second row — in the second heat while Malcolms Rhythm has barrier five off the front row in the third heat.
The Aikens also have smart mare Aldebaran Crescent in the trotters’ championship and she has drawn favourably in barrier three off the front row in the second heat.
Veteran Barmah trainer Tony Peacock is also tackling the trotters’ championship with Illawong Stardust, who has drawn barrier one in the first of the two heats and will be driven by another golden oldie, Brian Gath.
More in store for Moran?
Shepparton horseman David Moran no doubt feels privileged and honoured to have driven two of the best pacers of the current era.
There has been no pacer in Australia as good as Lochinvar Art in the past three years, and his racetrack deeds were more satisfying for Moran as he trains the pacer currently on the sidelines, and is hopefully on the comeback trail.
The other pacer which has given Moran the ride of his life is the three-year-old filly Ladies In Red which Moran has driven to 12 out of her 14 career wins from just 17 starts.
The best filly of her time — and maybe all time — Ladies In Red and Moran added the $300,000 Breeders Crown final to her amazing profile on Saturday night when she trounced a field of super three-year-old fillies from a back row draw.
The Emma Stewart-trained Ladies In Red’s $100,000 cut of the prizemoney took her lifetime earnings to $489,500. And you would think with still plenty more to come.
Moran had a big night which was otherwise pretty fruitless for Goulburn Valley trainers and drivers on Breeders Crown grand final night.
He also partnered another of the Stewart runners, Honolua Bay, to win the $50,000 Breeders Crown Championship for four-year-old entires and geldings.
Region’s talent reigns
While David Moran flew the flag for Goulburn Valley drivers in the Breeders Crown finals, GV owners and breeders had their moments in the sun at the series’ climax.
Congupna’s Rhiannon Park’s Blanche and Dean Poole bred the winner of the $50,000 two-year-old trotters final Just A Bit Touchy, who indicated he could be a future superstar trotter with a dominant win in sub-two-minute mile-rate time in recording his third win in just six trips to the races.
He is another of the all-conquering Stewart team.
Danny and Melinda Thackery of Aldebaran Park stud also got a big thrill at the meeting as part owners of the Brent Lilley-trained and Aldebaran Park-bred Aldebaran Zeus, who claimed the $80,000 trotters’ final for three-year-old colts and geldings.
Katunga-based Benstud also had a memorable night as the breeders of another freakish youngster in the Andy Gath-trained Catch The Wave, who claimed the $300,000 two-year-old colts and geldings final.
Lauriston Stud at Avenel also was prominent at the meeting as the breeders of the Moran-driven Ladies In Red and Honolua Bay.
Two’s the lucky number
Rochester horseman Mark Thompson had a day to remember last Thursday with two-year-old winners at two different meetings.
At the Maryborough meeting Thompson produced two-year-old filly Guaranteed Secret after a seven-month break for a decisive maiden win at just her fifth race start.
The daughter of Thompson’s former super pacer Guaranteed hit the ground running from barrier six and proceeded to run her rivals ragged over the sprint trip of 1690m.
She had more than 5m to spare over the runner-up Lady In Line with the odds favourite Major Annie a further 10m away in third place in a slick 1.55.1 mile-rate time, which included a 57.4 last half.
Guaranteed Secret, driven by Ellen Tormey, is the sixth winner out of the winning lightly raced Barnett Hanover mare Secret Bonus, who has also left Times A Bonus (13 wins) and Presidentialsecret, a winner of 23 races.
Thompson then lined up Missed The Truth at Echuca that evening to complete the day’s double.
Missed The Truth was on debut and, like Guaranteed Secret, scored a convincing all-the-way win.
A gelded son of top sire Somebeachsomewhere and also driven by Ellen Tormey, Missed The Truth cleared his rivals comfortably from barrier four at the start and was never in danger of being run down. He cruised home with more than 5m to spare from the runner-up and favourite, the Damian Wilson-trained-and-driven Max Wants To Play, with Roll With Ron filling the minor placing.
Missed The Truth is the first foal to race out of the Total Truth mare Lies, a winner of five of just 13 career starts.
Missed The Truth posted an impressive sub-two-minute mile-rate for the 2160m trip.
The wins followed on from another of the Thompson-trained two-year-olds, Pas Guarantee, saluting at the Kilmore meeting on November 11 when resuming from a spell.
Pas Guarantee won again at the Charlton meeting last Sunday to give another reason why Thompson could be excused for believing Christmas had come early .
Victory a quaddie killer
Echuca trainer Ros Rolfe dealt most main quaddie punters a fatal blow at the Echuca meeting when she produced outsider Dallas Patrick to win the final leg.
Rolfe was able to get the three-year-old son of Falcon Seelster into a front-running role from barrier four after a slick getaway, and he led throughout over the 1755m trip to account for You Ninety Two and Wild Imagination.
Dallas Patrick had been racing well of late and was a winner three starts previous at Swan Hill on September 30, so his tote price of 60/1 was pretty generous.
Rolfe was just 5m away from training and driving a long-shot double at the meeting with another of her team, Beach Time, being defeated by that margin in an earlier race by Jilliby Dingo.
Win has Dash of Flair
Kyabram-trained trotter Dash Of Flair was bursting to win a race and it finally came at the Echuca meeting.
Having her 20th start, the Brent Thomson-trained and Greg Sugars-driven five-year-old daughter of Bicardi Lindy utilised her front row barrier draw and was never headed over the 2130m journey under the standing-start conditions.
She had more than 4m to spare at the finishing post over a game Milly An Eyre and another Kyabram runner, Fugal.
Dash Of Flair had been working up to her maiden win with four successive placings at her previous four starts. Punters also thought she was ready to crack it for her first win and sent her out a $2.30 favourite.
The win came after another of Thomson’s team, Ima Destroyer, recently broke his maiden status with a win at a recent Maryborough meeting.
Dash Of Flair was one of four winners on the night at the Echuca meeting for top reinsman Greg Sugars.
He also won on Bettor Roll On, trained by wife Jess Tubbs, the Clinton McSwain-trained Wendys Watching and the NSW-prepared True Grit Shadow.
Double for Crossland
Promising concession reinsman Cody Crossland again displayed his driving skills with a double at the Echuca meeting.
Crossland partnered the Keith Kenna-trained Barrett and Codys Colt, trained by his mother Laura, to win successive races.
Crossland made a winning move a lap out on Barrett to race in the death seat for the final circuit and from there was able to outstay his rivals.
Crossland led on Codys Colt, who notched his fourth career win in 17 trips to the races.
In his three previous drives on the three-year-old son of Artspeak, Cody had managed two seconds so the win was satisfying — particularly when it’s on a horse which has been named after you.
They race again at Shepparton next Wednesday night.
Meetings coming up:
Today: Maryborough (d), Ballarat (n)
Saturday: Melton (n)
Sunday: Cranbourne (t)
Monday: Hamilton (d)
Tuesday: Shepparton (n)
Wednesday: Melton (d), Mildura (n)
Thursday: Charlton (d), Kilmore (n)
Friday: Geelong (n).
Sports reporter