All roads lead to Echuca on Sunday night for Echuca Harness Racing Club’s biggest meeting of the year at the Frank Ryan Raceway.
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All the on-track action is matched by a variety of off-track entertainment including live music in what is a traditional family meeting which has attendances boosted by holiday makers as well as trots stalwarts.
The feature event is the $12,000 Rich River Golf Club New Year’s Cup, which has attracted only six runners with most having genuine winning chances.
Echuca-based trainers Ros Rolf, Fred McKenner, Mick McMahon, Matt Beecroft and Peter Linderg all have runners at the meeting seeking home-town success.
The first race is at 5.20pm and the last at 9.32pm. Gates open at 4.30pm.
Group 1 hopes
Two trotters look to be the top hopes for northern Victorian trainers aiming for Group 1 Vicbred glory at tomorrow night’s mega Melton meeting.
The culmination of the Vicbred series for pacers and trotters climaxes at the meeting which features 12 Group 1 races in a standardbred smorgasbord for trots lovers.
The Wayne Potter-trained two-year-old trotter The Locomotive and the John Nissen-prepared Locksley Lover look to be in their $100 000 races up to their ears.
The Locomotive shoots for his ninth win in 12 starts and his fifth win in succession in the two-year-old colts and geldings final.
The son of Muscle Mass has to overcome a second row draw and a host of talented rivals but has the services of master reinsman Nathan Jack, who has driven him to all his wins.
Locksley Lover has come up with the barrier one draw in the four-year-old entires and geldings trotters final.
The draw provides options for Shepparton reinswoman Bec Bartley and Locksley Lover should give a bold display in his bid for his biggest career pay day and ninth win in 21 starts.
Stanhope reinsman Mark Pitt has five drives at the meeting for top trainer Emma Stewart, with The Lost Storm and Joyful looking his best chances.
Jack also has some plum drives on Anton Golino-trained trotters, including Courmayeur, which has drawn barrier one in the three-year-old trotters fillies final, and Cravache Dor in the three-year-old trotters colts and geldings final.
Other northern Victorian trainers and drivers seeking Group 1 glory at the meeting are Juanita Breen, Russell Jack, Cameron Maggs, David Aiken, Eddie Tappe, David Abraham, Leigh Sutton, David Moran, Damian Wilson and Mick Watt.
The Wolf prowls
Ace reinsman Mark Pitt made a triumphant return to his home town of Leeton on Boxing Day night, winning on the talented pacing mare The Wolf, which is trained by his partner Lisa Bartley.
Coming off a win at his previous start at Shepparton on November 29, The Wolf had to work hard early to find the lead, but once in front Pitt controlled the race on the four-year-old daughter of Rock N Roll Heaven, which notched her seventh career win from 24 starts with the success. Four of these wins have been in nine starts since joining the Bartley barn at Stanhope.
Punters plumped for The Wolf, which was a $1.25 chance on the tote and rated a slick 1.56.1 for the 2147m trip.
Bartley also produced the second (Chynchilla, driven by Blake Jones) and third (Chivalry, driven by Mark Pitt) placegetters in another race at the meeting.
Feeling Enerjetic’s pulsating finish
A trip to Wagga Wagga proved fruitful for veteran Bunbartha horseman John Newberry on December 23.
Newberry got a slice of the Christmas cake with Feeling Enerjetic, which got the verdict in a pulsating photo finish in which only 2.5 metres separated the first five placegetters.
Feeling Enerjetic rated a PB 155.8 for the 1740m trip and was driven by Newberry’s son Matt.
John partnered stablemate Shes Elite, which finished sixth just 3.6m from the winner in the same race.
Matt positioned Feeling Enerjetic in the one-one sit early but was relegated to the back half of the field in midrace moves before finishing stoutly wide out to post his sixth career win. But there have also been 23 minor placings, including 14 seconds, in his 62-race career.
In fine form
Rochester horseman Neville Pangrazio and Locksley’s John Nissen produced impressive winners in Vicbred qualifying races at last Friday’s Melton meeting.
The Pangrazio-prepared Shesawish, a two-year-old trotting filly by Wishing Stone, left her rivals in her wake with a dominant win with Nathan Jack in the sulky.
Bred and raced by Stanhope trots stalwarts Joan and Mal Shaw, Shesawish rated a slick 2.00.4 for the 2240m trip in spacing her rivals, beating the very talented runner-up Exalted by more than 18 metres.
Shesawish was having just her third trip to the races and looks to have a lot going for her.
Trainer John Nissen and driver Bec Bartley combined with the talented trotter Lockley Lover, which gave a dashing front-running display to beat a game Kyabram-bred and Chris Lang-trained Rouge Gentleman to notch his eighth career win in just 20 starts.
The four-year-old Love You gelding again went under the two-minute mile rate barrier in recording the win and has always been a trotter with a tremendous upside.
Owners Danny and Mel Thackery also enjoyed a win at the meeting with their star trotter Aldebaran Zeus.
The Brent Lilley-trained Muscle Hill four-year-old is building an impressive resume with 15 wins and 13 places from 34 starts which have produced $257,680 in prizemoney.
Tenlilfonzies breaks through
Kyabram-trained trotter Tenlilfonzies opened his winning account at his 16th try when he saluted at last week’s Elmore Cup meeting at Bendigo.
Bred by Rob Shellie from 10 times winning Shellie family bred and owned mare Idido, Tenlilfonzies was driven a treat by Damian Wilson, who had the son of Fling It in the one-one sit for most of the 210m trip.
Tenlilfonzies had registered only two minor placings in his previous 15 tries but one of these was a third at Bendigo at his previous start which had connections confident he was near the major money, although he still paid a generous $14 on the tote.
Veteran Kyabram horseman Greg Caldwell trains Tenlilfonzies and races the trotter with his son Rodney and both got a big kick out of the win.
The Elmore Trotters Cup was won by the Greg Norman-trained grey Blue Coman, driven by Kerryn Manning, while the Ross Graham-prepared Major Manbar landed a betting plunge in an all-the-way in the Elmore Pacers Cup.
Winning few days
It was a fruitful couple of days this week for Shepparton reinswoman Jordan Chibnall and her trainer partner Connor Crook.
Chibnall drove a winner at the Shepparton meeting on Tuesday night and followed it up with a treble at the Mildura meeting on Wednesday night.
A dashing front-running drive from Chibnall on Fynn Frost provided the only district training success at the Shepparton meeting.
Prepared at the Shepparton training complex by Crook, the seven-year-old Always A Virgin gelding was rated to perfection by Chibnall in a dominant front running display which produced an easy win.
Fynn Frost unleashed final sectionals of 28.8 and 27.3 in a 56.1 last half for a 1.55.1 mile rate and was never in danger of being run down.
Crook has had the pacer for only six starts and has now won two races with him, the first at Wagga Wagga on October 14.
A veteran of 96 starts, Fynn Frost has been no racetrack slouch. He has now won 16 races, been placed 20 times and has banked more than $157,000 in prizemoney.
At Mildura, Chibnall and Crook produced a double, winning with Our Bright Lady, a 5/1 chance, and Lifeinthebalance, which paid $3.90 for the win.
Chibnall’s other winner was CC Jones, prepared by local trainer Kate Attard and formerly prepared by Crook.
Jack’s honours and winning meeting for trainers
Nathan Jack took the driving honours and Julie Douglas and Ben Yole were the most successful trainers at the Shepparton meeting.
The gun Shepparton reinsman combined with trainer David Aiken to win with Kellys Delight, a 4/1 chance, and the Ben Yole-trained $2.50 favourite Live For Peace in wins that were popular with punters.
Yole also won with the favourite Our Celebrity, which was driven by Rob Walters.
Douglas had winners in Cmonbabylitemyfire and Major Watson.
Another district reinsman David Moran saluted on the Courtney Slater-prepared Luva Scrap at the meeting.
Should Beabarca’s story
There is a great story behind the win and the naming of three-year-old trotter Should Beabarca at the Shepparton meeting.
Trained by NSW horsewoman Kerry Towers and driving by her daughter, Congupna-based Kerry Towers, Should Beabarca ran down the favourite and pacemaker Cmon Car Lee in the concluding stages.
Stacey said Should Beabarca was the result of a semen mix-up.
His dam is the Great Success mare Devils Goddess and she was supposed to be mated with top trotting sire Bicardi Lindy.
But the semen got mixed up and she got in foal to Major Bronksi, a sire not known for producing trotters but some talented pacers.
Should Beabarca put the writing on the wall for Tuesday night’s win with a close-up third to Reigning Lillies in good time at her previous start at Echuca on December 21.
Stacey said Should Beabarca was expected to do her immediate racing in Victoria.
Retiring pacers
Two pacers with contrasting stories have run their last race.
Inter Dominion winner Boncel Benjamin has been retired by Shepparton owners Steve and Julie Duffy.
Named after Steve’s late father, Boncel Benjamin won last year’s Inter Dominion final at Menangle on protest to give the Duffys their greatest thrill in the sport.
James Grimson was training Boncel Benjamin at the time and was only sent by the Duffys to race at Menangle because he felt the shorter trips would suit his style of racing.
Boncel Benjamin had 95 career starts for 17 wins and 26 minor placings and accumulated prizemoney earnings of $487,330.
The other retiree, Shepparton-trained pacer Hayjoshandco, never reached the dizzy heights of Boncel Benjamin but was the apple of his owners Stewart and Pam McDonald’s eyes. They attended nearly all his 215 race starts which produced 20 wins, 27 seconds and 37 thirds and more than $130,000 in prizemoney for veteran Shepparton trainer Dave Farrar, who trained the son of Grinfromeartoear all his career.
Meetings coming up:
Today: Stawell (d) Bendigo (n)
Saturday: Melton (n)
Sunday: Echuca
Monday: Boort (d)
Tuesday: Mildura (n)
Wednesday: Geelong (n)
Thursday: Maryborough (d), Kilmore (n)
Friday: Ballarat (n)
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