Kerryn Manning’s feat of driving 4000 winners should never be underestimated.
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Manning fittingly achieved the milestone on a horse she also trains, Glenavril King, who was favourite and saluted at Stawell on Monday.
That 4000 milestone feat has proved elusive for Manning over the past week, but now it's done and dusted it should get all the accolades it deserves.
Other women may have initiated moves to bring female drivers into the sport, but it was Manning who has consistently provided the best publicity for female drivers by the proverbial length of the straight for more than the last 25 years.
Many talented female reinswomen have made their impression on the sport in later years, but Manning has been the brightest trailblazer.
I remember reading articles Manning wrote from Sweden for the now defunct Australian Trotting Weekly when she was campaigning in Sweden with trotter Knight Pistol for her trainer-father Peter.
I was greatly impressed with Manning’s writings and thought that if she transferred that ability into driving and training horses as well she was going to be a force to be reckoned with.
That certainly has happened.
But Manning’s impressive qualities are not confined to her training and driving skills.
While there is a steely desire to win within she is always co-operative with the press and gracious in defeat — a true role model for the sport.
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Shepparton-trained pacer Hot Wire impressed on debut at Melton on Wednesday courtesy of another masterly Ryan Duffy drive.
The four-year-old Village Jolt mare, trained by Ryan’s father Steve, was worked into the one-one-sit with a lap of the 1720m trip to run and when asked the question with 400m to run careered away from her rivals in the home straight for a decisive win.
Hot Wire zipped home in 57.7 and returned a mile rate of 1:58.6 for the trip.
Hot Wire, bred and owned by Mario Cirillo, is out of the Million To One mare Hot To Trot Lombo, a winner of five races with 14 minor placings.
Hot To Trot Lombo has left six winners, the most successful of them being Lombo Quick Step, who is by Lochinvar Art’s sire Modern Art, and was a seven times winner.
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Elmore horseman Matthew Higgins completed successive wins on the Bendigo track with Mister Big USA mare Lilnova on Wednesday night.
Beaten in an early duel for the lead by the Brian Gath-trained and driven American Tiger, top reinsman Chris Alford took Lilnova into the sprint lane in the dash to the judge and she prevailed over Beach Wreck and Our Doreen Days in slick 1:55.7 mile rate time for the 1650m dash.
Lilnova obviously has a penchant for the Bendigo track as four of her seven wins have now been on this circuit and the reason why she was a $1.40 chance for her latest win.
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Speedy Tongala-trained pacer Roslyn Gaye broke a run of 29 starts out of the winner's circle with an all-the-way triumph at Bendigo.
Not only did Roslyn Gaye run her rivals ragged, but posted a PB mile rate of 1:56.0 over the 1650m trip in recording her eighth win — there have also been 17 minor placings — which has her on the brink of $50,000 in prizemoney earnings.
Veteran horseman Gary Merkel bred, owns and trains Roslyn Gaye, who was driven to her latest win by Chris Svanosio.
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It’s been coming for quite a while — and it finally came last week at Cobram.
Kyabram-trained pacer Justa Philtra finally broke through for her maiden win.
The Mick Blackmore-prepared four-year-old Auckland Reactor mare put in a tough run, racing without cover for most of the 2190m trip.
But she pulled away from her rivals at the business end of the race to beat the runner-up Our Art Christian by more than 11m.
Justa Philtra had a frustrating 11 minor placings, including six seconds, from her previous 24 starts and was bursting to eliminate her maiden status.
Blackmore said Justa Philtra, bred and owned by Mt Scobie’s Phil and Tracey Wade and their daughter Paige, had gradually been getting tougher in her performances.
‘‘She is now able to do a lot more work in her runs than she used to. It was also a good race to win as it carried some bonuses as well as the normal prizemoney,’’ Blackmore said.
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Thirteen was a lucky number for six-year-old mare Bye Bye Barbie who continued the frustrations for the connections of pacer Scorcha when she zoomed to victory in the fast class race at Cobram.
In her 13th start for Avenel trainer Wayne Potter, Bye Bye Barbie, a 25-1 outsider, finished strongly to beat Scorcha and the Kima Frenning-trained and driven The Red Moon Rising.
It was the fourth successive runner-up finish for Scorcha — a half-brother of the Mark Purdon-trained champion Smolda — who is prepared by Chiltern horseman Peter Romero.
Driven by Josh Duggan, Bye Bye Barbie was having only her second start this campaign with her previous win recorded at Bendigo in September.
With a 56.7 last half she stormed to her 10th win from 60 starts.
There have also been 18 minor placings.
Potter acquired Bye Bye Barbie from Maree Caldow who had previously prepared the mare to win eight races.
It wasn’t all lost for Romero at the meeting as he produced six-year-old Art Major gelding Saving Major Percy to win the first race on the card to record his sixth win.
And it's been a good week for Potter who also produced Boy From Bondi to win at Bendigo on Wednesday night.
Formerly prepared by fellow Avenelite Ian Montgomery, Boy From Bondi had also won on January 14 at his previous outing when having his first start for Potter.
Chris Alford drove him to that win, while concession reinsman Jordan Leedham was in the sulky for Wednesday night’s win, the seventh of his 40 starts.
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The Cobram meeting also marked the return to driving of leading reinswoman Kima Frenning, who partnered the third placegetter The Red Moon Rising in Bye Bye Barbie’s race.
Formerly prepared in NSW where he had won five races The Red Moon Rising was having hisfourth start for Frenning.
But Frenning was quick to end speculation she was about to make a permanent return to race driving.
‘‘A lot of time has been put into this horse and when my regular drivers weren’t available I decided to drive him myself,” Frenning said.
“I’m very protective of him because we have put so much into him, but it was only a one-off drive and at the moment I’ve got no plans to return to race driving.’’
Frenning is currently preparing a team of five at Brett Bunfield’s state-of-the-art training property at Merrigum.
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Plenty of district interest in tomorrow night’s feature events at Melton.
In the $50,000 Group Two Casey Classic Avenel horseman David Aiken will line-up Malcolms Rhythm and Reactor Now, who have each-way claims in a wide open race.
With second placings in the recent Cobram and Shepparton cups Malcolms Rhythm is bursting to win a big race.
He won’t lose anything by having Greg Sugars in the sulky, but has an inside second row barrier draw to contend with.
Josh Aiken will drive stablemate and emerging star Reactor Now from a tricky barrier five front row draw, but is capable of a big run against quality rivals.
In the $50,000 Dullard Trotters Cup, Rochester horseman Neville Pangrazio and Tongala trainer Michael Watt hold the hopes of causing an upset win.
Pangrazio lines up talented Group One-winning mare Moonshine Linda, a 50-1 shot in the early markets, who has drawn the pole and will be driven by Chris Alford, while Dynamic Legacy, quoted as a 100-1 chance, will have leading concession reinsman James Herberton doing the driving honours.
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Racing returns to Kialla Raceway, Shepparton, tonight with an eight-event card.
Meetings coming up:
Today: Shepparton (n).
Tomorrow: Melton (n).
Sunday: Wedderburn (d).
Monday: Horsham (d).
Tuesday: Mildura (n).
Wednesday: Geelong (n).
Thursday: Maryborough (d), Shepparton (n).
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