Jack’s Gold-en adventure
Shepparton horseman Nathan Jack went within 2.30m of pulling off both the lucrative Bathurst Gold and Tiara two-year-old features last Saturday night.
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Jack produced Chart Topper to win the $150,000 Gold Crown final for colts and geldings and provide him with his first Group One winner as a trainer; and also had the runner-up Eye Believe in the Gold Tiara fillies final.
Both the Jack-trained pacers were driven by his partner Amanda Turnbull.
Having only his third start, Chart Topper led throughout to beat the Emma Stewart-trained Timmy Rictor who was driven by another Shepparton reinsman, David Moran.
Chart Topper won his heat as an odds-on favourite the previous Friday night when also leading, but was a generous $4.20 chance in the final.
Eye Believe chased home the favourite Lux Aeterna in the Tiara final after also running second when making her race debut in her heat to fellow Victorian Victory Stride.
Jack said Chart Topper was now in the spelling paddock and Eye Believe was being set for the Australian Gold two-year old series.
Pitt savours Bathurst success
Another Goulburn Valley horseman Mark Pitt also savoured success on finals night at the Bathurst carnival, scoring on the Emma Stewart-trained Major Delight in the $100,000 Gold Bracelet final for three-year-old fillies.
Beaten for the first time when second in her heat when chasing her 10th consecutive win, Major Delight bounced back in the final to sit parked outside the pacemaker and then staved off all challengers in the home straight once she got to the front.
David Moran drove the third place-getter Tempting Tigress in this final.
One of the unsung heroes on final night at Bathurst was super stallion Captaintreacherous who sired both the Gold Crown (Chart Topper) and Gold Tiara (Lux Aeterna) winners and the three-year-old colts and geldings Gold Challis winner, Bainbridge.
Rochy trainers in form
Rochester trots trainers Mark Thompson and Neville Pangrazio claimed two feature race wins last weekend.
Thompson produced Pas Guarantee to win the $35,000 Moama Bowling Echuca Pacers Cup on Friday night while Pangrazio took out the $50,000 Vicbred Platinum Home Grown Classic for three-year-old trotting fillies at Melton on Saturday night with Shesawish.
Pas Guarantee, driven by Ellen Tormey, gave away age and experience to most of his rivals in beating the favourite Idyllic and the second elect Dancingwithsierra in what turned into a three-horse battle to the wire.
But the new kid on the block was more than up to the challenge and comfortably held his rivals at bay in the drive to the finishing line.
Pas Guarantee, who completed a driving treble at the meeting for Tormey, was having only his 31st race start, but had won four of his previous six starts including the Boort Cup on March 5.
It was the first time Thompson has had a runner in Echuca’s premier race and it was extra special as Pas Guarantee is by his former top-line pacer Guaranteed, once mentioned by the great and late horseman Gavin Lang as one of the best pacers he had ever driven.
A son of Art Major, Guaranteed was a winner of 24 of his 46 starts and more than $850,000 in stake money earnings.
He is now starting to make a name for himself in the breeding barn with 14 individual winners from 29 starters from 105 foals to date.
Pangrazio produced the exciting young trotter Shesawish to claim the Home Grown Classic with a dominant front-of-the-field performance.
Driven by Anthony Butt, Shesawish took up the front-running posy early over the 1720m trip and was never seriously challenged, beating the runner-up Focus by over seven metres in 1.58.1 mile rate time.
By Trixton, Shesawish completed a hat-trick of wins with her success, having won at her previous two starts at Melton in December and at Bendigo when resuming on March 15.
Bred and raced by members of the stalwart Pangrazio and Shaw trots families, Shesawish has had only the five career starts for three wins and a third placing and looks to be a rising star in the trotting ranks.
Abrahams impresses at Echuca
Tatura north trainer David Abrahams made a flying start to the Echuca Cup meeting, producing the first two winners on the 10-event card.
Abrahams struck first with Major Milestone and then buttered up with Ideal Copy in the following event.
Both winners were driven by Ellen Tormey and both won with pillar-to-post performances.
A three-year-old filly by Art Major out of the Christian Cullen mare Illawong Sister Styx, who won 10 races, Major Milestone broke her maiden status with her runaway win in which she beat the runner-up Eye See Philtra by nearly 20m in sub two-minute mile rate time over the 2160m trip.
Ideal Copy was first out and first home in his race in which he held on to beat the Laura Crossland-trained and driven Macs A Dude to notch his second career win from 12 tries.
Ideal Copy is by American Ideal out of the Art Major mare Only A Copy who had nine starts for three wins.
Ben’s best
Shepparton trainer-driver Ben Gledhill was rewarded for pacer Kellys Ideal’s consistency when the Western Ideal eight-year-old gelding outlasted some serious challengers at the Echuca Cup meeting.
Kellys Ideal enjoyed the run of the race behind the pacemaker and favourite Montana Pride and secured a sprint lane run to account for a gallant locally trained Tino Tere Maori and Keayang Alex in a busy finish.
Kellys Ideal had run two seconds and a fourth leading into the race and has now won two races and with 10 top four finishes in 20 starts since Gledhill took over his training.
Fred delighted with Cobber
Two hometown veterans combined for a popular win at the Echuca meeting.
Veteran local trainer Fred McKenner produced 10-year-old pacer Cobber Mac for a memorable win on his home track on cup night.
Driven by Greg Sugars, Cobber Mac was able to secure the front-running position over the short 1755m trip and held off the Susan Hunter-trained Lethal Lover in a local quinella with Snazola a close-up third.
Sweet Vic-tree
The favourite prevailed in the Arch Electrical Echuca Trotters Cup with the Courtney Slater-trained and Glen Craven-driven Victree Hill saluting.
A six-year-old son of Trixton, Victree Hill settled three back on the outside in the race in which Sangreal made the front-running until she broke on the home bend.
Forced three and four deep Victree Hill was able to reel in Anywhere Hugo and Beau Garcon to claim the $20,000 feature and take her record to nine wins and nine placings from 34 starts.
Boilovers add spice to Echuca quaddie
Punters would have had their work cut out singling out two of the winners in the main quaddie at the Echuca cup meeting.
Most punters were out in the first leg when the Michael Laugher-trained Believe In Forever, driven by concession reinsman Liam Older, saluted at 25/1.
Those who survived that result then had to pluck out another 25/1 shot Community Art in the third leg to stay alive.
The handsome dividend of nearly $20,000 for those who got those two long-shot winners and the other two legs — Victree Hill and Pas Guarantee — indicated there wasn’t too many left standing before the last leg of the quaddie was run.
Keep Watch of trotter
Echuca-trained trotter Watch And Act notched his third win this season and his seventh career win when he saluted in a heat of the Colin Redwood Memorial at Maryborough on Monday.
The Faye McEwan-prepared five-year-old son of Skyvalley was given a sweet trip by reinsman Josh Duggan.
He had Watch And Act sitting on the back of the pacesetter early and then three back on the pegs for the last lap before finishing strongly once he got into clear running to beat Claudy An Gus and the Donna Castles-trained and driven favourite Berriesandcherries.
Watch And Act, who also has 14 runner-up finishes on his resume, tackles the final of the series at tomorrow night’s Melton meeting from the favourable front-row draw of barrier two; so looks to be in the race up to his ears.
Kilmore joy
Northern Victorian trainers and reinsman Nathan Jack cleaned up in the trotters events at Tuesday night’s Kilmore meeting.
Kyabram trainer Peter Hall struck with the lightly-raced filly Shes Ruby Roo, Elmore trainer Keith Cotchin was successful with long-shot Meadowvalley Lover while Shepparton mentor Darryn Rowney produced Cmon Carl Lee on his best behaviour for a runaway win.
Shes Ruby Roo and Cmon Car Lee were piloted to front-running wins by Nathan Jack.
Hall, the new Kyabram Football Club under-18s coach, had Shes Ruby Roo spot-on for her return to racing.
The three-year-old daughter of Creatine was returning from a five-month spell after placing at her first two starts as a two-year-old.
She never gave her rivals a look-in much to the delight of punters who supported her into a $1.20 favourite.
By contrast, in betting Meadowvalley Lover saluted a 70/1 shot for Keith Cotchin and Heathcote reinswoman Tayla French.
Now back with Cotchin after a stint with Brent Lilley, the Love You mare has always shown a lot of ability and put up a tough run in her latest win, the fourth of her 36-race career.
Cmon Car Lee is always a heart-in-your-mouth performer but again showed that when his mind is on the job is a very capable trotter.
And that was the case at Kilmore when he worked to the front early and never looked like being run down in notching his 10th career win, establishing a PB 2.00.1 mile rate for the 1690m trip in the process.
The next seven days
Meetings coming up:
Today: Yarra Valley (d) Ararat (n)
Saturday: Melton (n)
Sunday: No racing
Monday: No racing
Tuesday: Bendigo (n)
Wednesday: Shepparton (d) Mildura (n)
Thursday: Ballarat (n)
Friday: Stawell (d)
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