Sulky Shorts with Gus Underwood

By Gus Underwood

Mar 23, 2023

Trackside: Echuca Harness Racing Club is gearing up for what looks to be a bumper cup meeting tonight. Photo by Steve Huntley

Bumper cup on the border

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Echuca Harness Racing Club is geared up for what looks to be a bumper cup meeting tonight.

Headline events on the 11-race card are the $35,000 Moama Bowling Club Echuca Pacing Cup and the $20,000 Arch Electrical Group Echuca Trotters Cup. Both features have capacity fields of 11 runners.

The pacing cup has three last-start winners and also the likely favourite, Idyllic, prepared by super trainer Emma Stewart and to be driven by Chris Alford.

Idyllic finished fourth at the last start at Melton last Saturday night when beaten by just over two metres by the talented Better Eclipse. He has to overcome a second row draw but is Stewart’s only runner at the meeting and looks the one to beat.

Other back-rowers in Tangoingwithsierra and Sew What are racing in top form and over the testing trip of 2560m have strong each-way claims.

Chances of a district win rest with Rochester trainer Mark Thompson who has Par Guaranteed coming from barrier four off the front line, Shepparton co-trainers Steve O’Donoghue and Bec Barley with the resuming Western Sonador and Connor Crook with last Saturday night’s Melton winner Montana Storm. They have drawn barriers five and six off the front row.

The Trotters Cup has also drawn a capacity field with many chances.

Nephew Of Sonoko is the class runner of the field but has to give away up to 50m in handicaps to most of his rivals.

Sangreal, Victree Hill and Blue Coman all have genuine each-way chances on current form.

The huge program kicks off at 5.50pm and the last race is at 11.03pm.

Classy Cheyella

Talented mare Cheyella completed successive metropolitan wins with another dominant display at Melton last Saturday night.

The Heston Blue Chip five-year-old who sat parked for the last lap in the 1720m event powered clear of her rivals in the concluding stages to claim her 12th career win, which took her prize money earnings over $111,000.

Trained and driven by Laura Crossland, Cheyella had scored a stirring win at Melton the previous Saturday night after campaigning twice at the recent Miracle Mile carnival at Menangle without much luck.

GV trainers impress at Melton

Other GV trainers in Craig Turnbull and Connor Crook also savoured success at the Melton meeting.

Turnbull produced Dalvey Robyn, driven by his daughter Abbey, for a pillar-to-post win over 2240m trip.

The five-year-old Washington VC gelding cruised home with nearly eight metres to spare over the runner-up in posting his fifth career win in 27 starts.

Dalvey Robyn had won at Gunbower two starts previously and his last nine starts had produced three wins and with five top-four finishes.

Connor Crook’s Montana Storm also impressed in victory, driven by Jack Laugher.

The five-year-old son of Bettors Delight was having just his third start in Victoria after winning nine of 29 starts in Tasmania when prepared by Rohan Hillier.

It was a fruitful couple of days for Crook as he had produced Heavensway to win the previous night at Shepparton.

Heavensway, a Rock N Roll Heaven five-year-old gelding driven by Mark Pitt, swamped his rivals in the straight to post a 1.57.6 PB for the 1690m trip in hoisting his fourth career win in 17 starts.

Pitt driving his way to winners

Mark Pitt certainly chalked up the kilometres — and winners — last week.

After driving a double on Friday night at Shepparton — Heavensway and Sir Sonny McGuire — Pitt took to the skies on Saturday for the Tasmanian Cup meeting, in which he drove three winners from four drives for Victorian trainer Emma Stewart.

One of his winners in Hobart was Wheres The Gold, who claimed the $150,000 Tasmanian Cup as a $1.50 favourite.

Pitt was back in Victoria on Sunday to drive for Stewart at the Charlton Cup meeting and his two drives produced two wins, including the $35,000 Charlton Cup winner Cant Top This.

One of Pitt’s Shepparton winners, the Art Major pacer Sir Sonny McGuire, was having his first start for his trainer wife Lisa after three unplaced finishes in the Riverina after coming from New Zealand.

Sir Sonny McGuire put in a big run to win the Ben O’Donoghue Memorial, circumnavigating the field from near last in the final lap in 1.55.2 mile rate time over the 1609m trip to record his third career win in 22 starts.

Nifty Nev comes to the fore

Rochester trainer Neville Pangrazio is enjoying success with his trotters at the moment.

Last week he won with promising young trotter Shesawish who completed back-to-back wins with an impressive effort at Bendigo and then produced Willdomxav to win at his 50th race start at the Shepparton meeting.

Driven by Anthony Butt three-year-old Wishing Stone filly Shesawish was first out and first home over the 1650m dash.

Shesawish, who is out of the winning Sundon mare Shesasundon, who was stepping out for only the fourth time and looks a promising type.

Willdomxav, a six-year-old son of Tennotrump, settled among the tail-enders, but got a three-wide run into the race over the final circuit and rounded up his rivals in comfortable fashion at the business end of the race.

The win broke a run of 10 starts out of the winners’ circle for Wildomxav but he had indicated at his previous start when second to Daisey Bouchea at Stawell he was ready to salute again.

It was his sixth career win from his 50 starts with 10 minor placings.

Assassin lives up to his name

A dashing mid-race move by driver Codi Rauchenberger landed classy pacer Red Hot Assassin a winner at last Friday night’s Shepparton meeting.

Rauchenberger whipped Red Hot Assassin around the field to take up the front-running after a brief tussle with Mahindi which proved a winning move.

Rauchenberger has been in the sulky for both his wins in four starts this campaign.

A four-year-old by Four Starzzz Shark, Red Hot Assassin is prepared by Murchison mentor Greg Fleming and has now won six of his 19 career starts with five placings.

Thompson’s Wagga trip just Royal

The long trip to Wagga for Rochester trainer Mark Thompson paid dividends last Friday.

Thompson took the talented in-form pacer Thomas Royal who duly saluted to make it four wins in his last five starts.

Tom Gilligan drove the three-year-old Guaranteed gelding who was first out and first home in his 16th career start which have now produced three wins and five minor placings.

His 1.57.0 mile rate was also a PB.