Shepparton trainer Russell Jack has qualified four runners for tomorrow night’s $100,000 two-year-old finals at the annual Bathurst Gold carnival.
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Jack-trained fillies Just Hope, Captains Queen and Shez Bettors Babe will contest the Gold Tiara fillies final and Nineteenth Man the Gold Crown colts and geldings final after the heats last Friday night.
Just Hope was driven to an all-the-way heat win by by Zac Phillips, who will be in the sulky again tomorrow night when the Bettors Delight filly comes from gate two over the 1730m trip.
In contrast to Just Hope's win, Captains Queen did the bullocking work outside the pacesetter and was still good enough to pull away from her rivals in the concluding stages.
Captains Queen rated 1:58.5 and Just Hope 1:57.0 in their heats wins.
Shez Bettors Babe ran second in her heat to Eye Can Fly, but has to overcome a second row draw in the final.
Nineteenth Man, driven by Amanda Turnbull, came from last in his Gold Crown heat to book his spot in the final in which he will come from barrier three.
The one to beat in the final could be the unbeaten Mister Rea, who had easily the quickest winning mile rate in the heats and has drawn the pole.
Tatura trainer Craig Turnbull has also qualified Masquerading for the final after a gallant second in his heat to Mister Rae.
Driven by Abbey Turnbull, Masquerading faced the breeze in the run and went down by only 1.5m.
He is sure to be in the action for a long way after drawing barrier two.
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Five-year-old pacer Malcolms Rhythm shed his country cups bridesmaid tag with a thrilling win in last Friday night’s Echuca Pacing Cup.
The David Aiken-trained and Josh Aiken-driven son of Art Major had strung together a sequence of second placings in country cups and other feature races in recent times, so it was a well-deserved and popular win.
Particularly as Josh had praised Malcolms Rhythm's chances of winning the cup in a radio interview the previous day and he was a $3.80 second elect in the $35,000 feature.
Malcolms Rhythm had run second placings in the Cobram, Shepparton and Terang cups in the new season as well as the Casey Classic, so a country cup win was beckoning.
Josh Aiken positioned Malcolms Rhythm four back on the outside in the 2560m marathon and the seven-year-old worked home strongly over the last lap to reel in the pacesetter Sicario and the favourite Like A Wildlfire in an edge-of-the-seat three-way finish.
The $19,950 first prize for his 11th win took Malcolms Rhythm's earnings to $245,350 from 43 starts which have also included 18 minor placings.
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No doubt the owners of pacer Sicario were getting a bit nervous as the field whirled for home in the Echuca Pacing Cup.
Defending his cup win from last year, the Brent Lilley-trained son of Somebeachsomewhere made a gallant bid to lead all the way after being sent to the front by reinsman Daryl Douglas at barrier rise.
Being nabbed by Malcolms Rhythm and Like A Wildfire near the finishing post prevented dual celebrations at the meeting for the owners, which include Echuca’s Rob Owen and former Seymourites John Wilkinson and Gary Dowling, who had saluted in the Jim Connelly Bucket trotters feature in the previous race with Stress Factor.
Given the run of the race up on the pace by Douglas, Stress Factor, a Victorian Trotters Derby winner, ran down the leader and favourite Downunder Barkers in the home stretch to record his 12th win.
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Greg Albert struck the only blow for local trainers at Echuca when he produced honest trotter Bella Lucy for her third win in 16 starts.
Albert settled Bella Lucy four back on the pegs in the run after a roughhouse startand eased the mare into the one-one sit for most of the last lap.
She found herself in front after some gallopers had ruined their chance in the final circuit and was cheered loudly from the pleasing cup crowd as she held off to beat Get Smart Max and Bacardi Wood.
Bella Lucy was bred and is raced by Echuca-Moama trots stalwarts Norm and Joan Visca and is another good advertisement for super sire Majestic Son.
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Murchison trainers Shane Kittel and Rosie Weidenbach also produced winners at Echuca.
Kittel scored with the talented Alta Christiano mare Orbie, driven by Michael Bellman, who completed successive wins after winning at Melton at her previous start.
It was actually the third win in her past four starts for the four-year-old, having saluted at Cranbourne four start earlier.
Weidenbach bobbed up again with the five-year-old Well Said mare Well Well, who scored her second win at her past three starts after winning at Shepparton on March 7.
Driven a confident race by Olivia Weidenbach, Well Well edged out the locally-trained Cobber Mac and High Flux in an absorbing battle to the finishing line.
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Talk about having a good trot.
The owners of the recent NSW Derby winner Patsbeachstorm were up and about again at Monday’s Kilmore meeting.
The reason for the latest celebration for the ownership group, which includes Shepparton trots tragic Rod Booker, was a two-year-old pacer on debut called Beach Memories.
The son of Somebeachsomewhere brained his rivals in a most impressive first racetrack appearance, spacing the runner-up by nearly 30m.
Driven by Leigh Sutton for trainer David Moran, Beach Memories put his rivals away in 1:56.7 mile rate time which was extra slick going on the rain-affected track.
Apart from being by the same sire Beach Memories is no relation to Patsbeachstorm, although owned in the same interests.
He is out of the brilliant Troublemaker mare Distant Memory, who won 10 races and was placed second in another six in 24 starts.
One of her wins was the two-year-old fillies final of the Gold Tiara at Bathurst.
Distant Memory has left four winners from four to race, including Hows The Memory, a winner of 15 races.
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Acardia horseman Patrick Ryan produced talented young trotter Sweet On You for his third win against older rivals on Wednesday night at Shepparton.
The three-year-old Love You gelding, driven by Michael Bellman, finished strongly to account for the Clive Dalton-prepared Allwoods Sunbeam and the Ken Covington-trained Bacardi Wood.
The Sheron Park-owned trotter raised eyebrows at his second start when he blitzed a field of two-year-olds by more than 95m at Bendigo.
He was having only his fourth start as a three-year-old in his latest win which included a 1:58.0 victory at Maryborough on March 11.
This was followed by a second placing at Melton in the $50,000 Group One final to Central Ortago in the Aldebaran Park Home Grown Classic.
Ryan, Rochester’s Neville Pangrazio and Elmore’s Matthew Higgins struck the only winning blows for northern Victorian trainers at the meeting.
Pangrazio produced Bacardi Lindy mare Tequila Breeze for her first win, while the Higgins-trained and Greg Sugars-driven Mister Big mare Lilnova notched her eighth win.
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Meetings coming up:
Friday: Bendigo (n).
Saturday: Melton (n).
Sunday: Horsham Cup (n).
Monday: Cobram (d).
Tuesday: Mildura (n).
Wednesday: Geelong (n).
Thursday: Maryborough (d), Kilmore (n).