Spirit Of Arion made it three wins at Melton from his last six race starts, while Cantfindabettorman made it back-to-back wins on the track in the space of a week.
Both were driven by Chris Alford.
Spirit Of Arion came from second last at the bell to make it three wins from his only three appearances on the Melton track.
He is now a 12-time winner with eight minor placings from 42 starts, the last seven of those starts for Walsh.
The Bec Bartley-trained and Lisa Pitt-driven New Yorker finished third in the race.
The white-faced Cantfindabettorman produced a PB best run time-wise with a 1:51.4 mile rate after being set loose in the back straight over the 1720m trip and rounding up his rivals with a blistering turn of prolonged speed.
He is now a 17-time winner along with 21 minor placings from 56 starts, which have produced prizemoney of more than $370,000.
Chasing Breeders bucks
Smart Shepparton-trained pacers Captain Hammerhead and Our Special Memory are chasing big bucks in NSW Breeders Challenge finals at tomorrow night’s Menangle meeting.
The Russell Jack-trained Our Special Memory, who won her semi-final on October 12 when she paced a PB 1:53.5 for the 1609m trip, has drawn a little wide in barrier seven in the $150,000 feature for two-year-old pacing fillies.
Nathan Jack will drive Our Special Memory, a filly by Bettors Delight who boasts a record of four wins, a second and a third from seven starts.
The David Moran-trained Captain Hammerhead has come up with the visitor’s draw for the $50,000 Breeders Challenge for the four-year-old geldings and entires final.
The son of Captaintreacherous was nabbed on the line by fellow Victorian, the Emma Stewart-trained, Oliver Dan in their heat at Menangle last Saturday night, but both Victorians have to overcome horror barrier draws in the final.
Captain Hammerhead has drawn the extreme outside of the front row – barrier 10 – and Oliver Dan is drawn immediately inside of him which has set extra challenges for Victorian duo in the 1609m sprint trip.
Potter goes bang, bang
Shepparton trainer Wayne Potter completed last Friday’s meeting at Wagga in a blaze of glory, winning the last two events on the card.
Potter struck first with Rocknroll Kiss who was driven to a strong win by his daughter Tasmyn, who took the Rock N Roll Heaven four-year-old gelding to the outside of the leader at the bell and outstayed his rivals to score, paying a nice dividend of $12 for the win.
It was also Rocknroll Kiss’ second win from his last three starts, saluting at Cobram two starts previously.
He now boasts a record of five wins and three minor placings from 15 starts.
Potter completed the double with the talented Spyglass who was coming off a gallant second the previous Saturday night at Melton.
Despite that run he was backable as an even money chance and duly delivered courtesy of a well judged drive by Nathan Jack.
Spyglass was restrained at the start and led up the three wide chain on the home turn to wear down a gallant Charlene Gusman-trained and driven Hes Charlies Angel who raced outside the speed for the 1740m trip, with the Isabel Walsh-prepared Invitation Only, who set the pace, finishing third in a Shepparton trifecta.
Spyglass, a four-year-old gelding by Sweet Lou, is building an impressive record with 10 wins and five minor placings to his credit from 19 starts.
Jet set for vet visit
Shepparton reinsman Nathan Jack has taken a ‘‘better be sure than sorry’’ approach to his unbeaten three-year-old trotting superstar Derek The Jet.
Jack sensed something was not quite right with the son of Volstead after winning the $50,000 Need for Speed Princes final at Melton on October 5 and scratched the superstar from the heats of the Victoria Trotters Derby at Maryborough last Sunday, missing a highly-anticipated clash with the freakish unbeaten filly Keayang Zahara, who looks to have the final of the derby at Redwood Day at Maryborough this Sunday at her mercy.
Jack said Derek The Jet would undergo a vet examination this week in a bid to determine any problems he may have.
But Jack still has a runner in the Sunday’s derby, Violet Stanford, who qualified with an eye-catching fourth in her heat, only 11m from the winner Keayang Zahara.
Also by Volstead, Violet Stanford won her first eight starts and is a talented trotter and, like Keayang Zahara, takes on the colts and geldings in the derby.
It’s been another interesting week for Jack who claimed one of the features at last Saturday night’s Melton meeting when he dove the Glenn Hunter-prepared Gatesys Gem to an all-the-way win in the time-honoured Tatlow Stakes for two-year-old trotters.
And on Monday Jack was the odd man out at Yarra Valley.
He drove the only winner fellow driver James Herbertson didn’t drive on the seven-race card.
Jack drove the Bill Milner-trained trotter Astro to victory at nice odds of 5/1 with Herbertson saluting in the other six races in a top driving feat.
Herbertson’s winners were Aldebaran Abel ($1.45), Dougs Tribe ($3.50), Silver Domino ($5), Cee Cee Calder ($1.22), Jay Bee ($1.20) and Paigethehurrikane ($1.95).
Tasmyn strikes twice
Shepparton reinswoman Tasmyn Potter’s star continues to rise with a driving double in another good meeting for district horsewomen at Shepparton on Tuesday night.
Potter won on the Greg Norman-trained Apieceoflou and Royale Blood for local trainer Paul Tonkin.
Avenel’s Juanita Breen and Echuca’s Fay McEwan were other Goulburn Valley female trainers to produce winners at the meeting.
Breen struck with paced Rockgod who was overdue for a win and scored with a powerful finishing burst to edge out the Mick Blackmore-trained and Nathan Jack-driven Eye See Philtra.
McEwan saluted with trotter Jansu, driven by Josh Duggan, who was an odds-on favourite on the strength of good recent form and dominated the race in a front running role to log her fifth win.
Coming up
Today: Maryborough (d), Melton (n)
Tomorro: Melton (n)
Sunday: Maryborough (d)
Monday: Yarra Valley (d)
Tuesday: Shepparton (n)
Wednesday: Bendigo (n)
Thursday: Mildura (d), Kilmore (n)
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