The harness racing industry lost a long-serving stalwart this week with the passing in Shepparton of Kevin Newbound.
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Kevin was a pacesetter in the industry along with his family and bred, raced and drove horses over a long period from the 1950s.
Kevin and his family hailed from Chiltern where they ran the famous standardbreds Forest Lodge Stud for 20 years from the early 1960s to the early 1980s.
The family was associated with thee of the most famous standardbreds in Australian harness racing history: Garry Rowan, his son Classic Garry and Lennytheshark.
Classic Garry, who was by Garry Rowan out of Gay Reveller mare Gay Acres, won 19 races with seven placings and $152,000 which was big money back in those days.
Another of Garry Rowan’s sons Gallant Garry won 15 races and placed another 22 times.
Gay Acres also left Provocative, a daughter of Windshield Wiper and trained by Ron ‘Tubby’ Peace.
Provocative won 19 races, finished second seven times and third once in her 36-race career in the late 1980s.
One of Kevin’s most memorable moments in the sport was breeding the great modern day champion Lennytheshark, the Inter Dominion winner for trainer David Aiken in Perth in 2015.
Unfortunately Kevin didn’t get to savour that win as he was suffering Alzheimer’s, which had struck him down 13 years ago and had left him in palliative care for the last six years.
Kevin and his brother Leo moved to the Goulburn Valley area in 1983 and they set up separate studs in the Shepparton area.
His funeral will be held next Tuesday with a service at Merritt Funeral Services, Mooroopna from 11am.
GV connections shine at Wagga
Goulburn Valley horsemen had another big day at last Friday’s meeting at Wagga’s Riverina Raceway.
Shepparton reinsman Nathan Jack drove a treble, including a heat of the NSW Breeders Challenge for two-year-old fillies on Treasure Stride who is prepared by his father Russell.
By Captaintreacherous, Treasure Stride completed a hat-trick of wins with the pacer who has been unplaced in only one of five career starts and that was earlier this year when he finished fourth in the $110,000 Gold Tiara final at Bathurst.
Nathan Jack also partnered pacers Whata Pleasure to victory for Chiltern trainer Peter Romeo and also won on the NSW-prepared Sasha.
Stanhope reinsman Mark Pitt also enjoyed two wins at the meeting on Emma Stewart-trained Major Celebrity and Major Delight who won the colts and geldings and fillies heats of the Breeders Challenge respectively.
Moran’s comeback taking shape
Murchison’s David Moran also continued his successful comeback in the sulky, driving the Greg Fleming-trained The Last Chance to the pacer’s 12th career win at the Wagga meeting.
The Fleming-Moran team struck again at the Wangaratta meeting at Shepparton last Sunday night, saluting with Reckless Dream.
Moran gave Reckless Dream the run of the race and got a three-wide tow into race in the final circuit and the son of Sunshine Beach finished over his rivals to record his third career win in 10 starts with four minor placings.
Reckless Dream is out of the multiple winning Trump Casino mare Oneminutetodream and is the first foal to race out of the mare.
‘Home’ success for Conor
Shepparton trainer Conor Crook and partner Jordan Chibnall celebrated his winner from the new Shepparton training complex when Sinister saluted at a recent Wagga meeting.
Now Crook and Chibnall have christened their new home track with a win.
The pacer Crook trains and Chibnall drove, Redfox Raider, wasn’t first past the post at last Sunday’s Shepparton meeting, but was awarded the race on a protest after stewards had determined that the winner, Cashflow Cassie, had raced inside marker pegs.
Unless you had some of your hard-earned on first home Cashflow Cassie in the race, you wouldn’t have begrudged Redfox Raider of the win, as his previous eight starts had produced six top four finishes.
The five-year-old son of Courage Under Fire’s career record now stands at four wins, six seconds and a third from 32 career starts with his latest win producing a PB 1.57.4 over the 1690m trip.
Redfox Raider’s win started a big week for Crook, who also produced a winner at Monday’s Kilmore meeting and on Tuesday night at Wagga.
At Kilmore, Crook partnered the favourite Lifeinthebalance to a gutsy win after a daring drive.
Crook sent the four-year-old Grinfromeartoear gelding around the field early and was headed in the home straight, but fought back to regain the lead at the finishing line to notch his fourth win from 22 career starts.
The long trip to Wagga on Tuesday night to contest the last race on the program also made the trip home seem a bit shorter when the Crook-trained-and-driven pacer Our Bright Light opened her winning account in style.
A three-year-old filly by For A Reason, Our Bright Light had clocked up six top three finishes without a win in 10 career starts in Tasmania, but had few worries putting away her older rivals with a 1.55.1 effort for the 1740m trip in securing her first win.
Jacks Erupt
It’s been another big week for the Jacks: Shepparton trainer Russell and his reinsman son Nathan.
It started at the Swan Hill meeting on the Thursday of last week when they picked up a heat in round one of the Northern Region Championship with Erupt Stride, a two-year-old who took on the older pacers and gave them a spanking.
Erupt Stride repeated the dose in the second round of heats of the same series at Mildura on Tuesday night with another dashing performance.
Last Friday, the Jacks combined to win a heat of the NSW Breeders Challenge at Wagga with Treasure Stride, one of three winners Nathan drove at the meeting.
It got better on the Saturday night when the Jacks claimed a heat of the Victoria Oaks with their talented filly Just Hope who led over the gruelling 2760mm trip and held on to beat the Emma Stewart-trained and Mark Pitt-driven Petillante who was striving to win her seventh successive race.
Partly owned by local Laurie Cormican, Just Hope, a winner of 10 of her 22 starts and more than $340,000 in prizemoney, tackles the $150,000 Victoria Oaks final from barrier six tomorrow night.
Brilliant Bernie
The last four races at Tuesday night’s Mildura meeting were called off due to the wet conditions but not before track specialist Bernie Winkle continued his love affair with the track.
The nine-year-old son of Rock n Roll Heaven made it career win number 60 with another dominating performance.
And an incredible 38 of these wins have been produced on the Mildura track.
Captain my Captain!
Captain Ravishing lived up to his reputation as one of the most exciting young pacers in years when he put up a herculean performance to win his heat of the Victoria Pacers Derby last Saturday night.
The son of Captaintreacherous had a memorable duel with dual derby winner, the Queensland-trained Leap To Fame, and took the honours despite sitting outside that pacer for most of the 2760m marathon.
The win completed a hat-trick of wins for the pacer since joining the Emma Stewart barn with reinsman Mark Pitt in the sulky for those wins.
Despite the testing journey of the heat, Captain Ravishing’s mile rate of 1.58.3 was commendable but his final sectionals of 26.8 and 26.6 for a last half of 53.4 seconds was mind blowing.
Captain Ravishing has drawn barrier three off the second row in tomorrow night’s $100,000 Derby final but is still the one to beat on what he has displayed to date.
Hear Roscoe Roar
Three-year-old Betterthancheddar gelding Roarforroscoe completed successive wins on the track when he saluted at the transferred Wangaratta meeting at Shepparton last Sunday night.
The consistent pacer had saluted at his previous start on the track on August 22 after four successive top finishes and has now won four races with four minor placings from just 10 career starts.
In his latest win, his Avenel trainer-driver Juanita Breen took up the front running position early on Roarforroscoe, but he was ambushed at the bell by the NSW visitor, the Ellen Bartley-trained Rock n Dash, who dashed to the front.
Breen then bided her time and coaxed Roarforroscoe along the sprint lane and went on to beat the border hopper home.
The win actually deprived the Bartley sisters, Lisa, Ellen and Bec, of a treble treat at the meeting.
Trainer Lisa produced Love Lou Longtime for a win earlier in the program and Bec partnered the John Yeoman-trained pacer Leave Your Hat On to a runaway success in the second last event.
Col’s good week
Nanneella’s Col Godden is another trainer to have had a good week.
Godden produced pacer Sayitaintso to score his third win on the Shepparton track and two wins in his last three starts when he saluted at last Sunday’s meeting.
The four-year-old Rock With Joe gelding put up a tough performance to account for the Brian Crossland trained Bee Gee Cee and Treacherous Times.
Purchased by his current trainer after winning at Kilmore in May, Sayitaintso had four runs in Queensland for Godden and chalked up a win at Albion Park before returning to Victoria.
He saluted first up on his return on August 22, won again on the track two starts later on September 16 and after a seventh at his next start completed the Shepparton treble on Sunday.
Sayitaintso was trained by Michael Stanley and Luke Stapleton before switching to the Godden stables and has a career record of seven wins and four minor placings from 28 starts.
Godden had another winner at Wednesday night’s Bendigo meeting when Sweet Mila Jean won on her Australian debut.
The Sweet Lou three-year-old, who was having just her third race start after running places in her previous two starts in New Zealand, led from pillar to post.
Eddie and Abbie a winning combination
Congupna trainer Eddie Tappe was well to the fore in the Members Trot at the Shepparton meeting, producing the winner and the third place-getter.
The consistent Abbie won the race and Tappe’s other runner, Millie, finished third.
Second place in the Tappe ‘sandwich’ was the Donna Castles-trained and driven Lindy Grace.
Abbie, who started an odds on favourite, was driven by Steve Boyington, who is the only driver apart from Tappe to have driven the Majestic Son four-year-old mare who has now won six of her 26 starts with six placings.
Tappe drove Millie, who was second favourite, and who was beaten just over three metres by her stablemate.
Sweet result
Lightly raced four-year-old Sweet Lou gelding Love Lou Sometime atoned for a first-up defeat for her new trainer when she blitzed her rivals at Shepparton.
Making her Victorian debut for new trainer Lisa Bartley at the Shepparton meeting on September 6, when a hot favourite, Love You Sometime pulled her way out of contention.
But she raced more generously this time and when seriously challenged by Modern Mayhem 400 metres from the judge, responded by pulling away and beating that pacer by over 16 metres with a blistering 55.2 last half.
Love Lou Sometime had five starts for five placings in New Zealand before crossing the Tasman and was placed in one of three runs at Menangle for KerryAnne Morris before joining the Bartley stable at Stanhope.
That was her first win; she has only missed a top three in 10 career wins to date.
Big night at Melton
A huge night of racing tomorrow night at Melton is headlined by the $300,000 Victoria Cup, the $150,000 Victoria Oaks and Victoria Derby.
The star-studded 11-event card boasts four Group Ones and three Group Two and Three features.
Shepparton trainer Russell Jack makes a two-pronged attack on the Oaks with heat winner Just Hope and Wendys Wish while Mark Pitt drives Petillante in the blue ribbon event.
Pitt partners the favourite Captain Ravishing in the Derby in which other local reinsmen Nathan Jack (Simply Star) and David Moran (Khafaji) also have drives.
In the Victoria Cup hopes of a district win rest with Avenel trainer David Aiken’s star pacer Delight who has to overcome an extreme outside second draw.
Meetings coming up:
Today: Ballarat (n)
Saturday: Melton (n)
Sunday: Ouyen (d)
Monday: Warragul (d)
Tuesday: Bendigo (n)
Wednesday: Melton (d) Echuca (n)
Thursday: Hamilton (d), Kilmore (n)
Friday: Geelong (n)
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