A neck made the difference between collecting $500,000 or $10,200 for star pacer Swayzee in the Albury Murray Cup last Friday night.
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The party pooper was the Shepparton-trained pacer Captain Hammerhead, who deprived Swayzee of the $500,000 bonus with his win in the $60,000 feature.
It took a track-record breaking performance for Captain Hammerhead to claim the race and deprive Swayzee of boosting his bonus earnings in the series to $500,000 while keeping alive his chances of pocketing the $1 million bonus if he won the five cups in the series.
With wins in the Tamworth, Young and Parkes cups Swayzee had secured $250,000 in bonuses and if he won the Murray Albury Cup would have collected the $500,000 bonus and remained eligible for the $1 million bonus if he won the Penrith Cup in March 15 to complete a clean sweep of the series.
Swayzee will collect the $500,000 bonus if he wins the Penrith Cup.
Last Saturday night at Albury, Captain Hammerhead rated 1:57.1 to secure the 2570m feature in front of a crowd of almost 8000 racegoers. The previous record for this distance was 2:00.0.
Captain Hammerhead’s trainer-driver, David Moran, admits he wasn’t sure he could beat Swayzee, who had beaten the super pacer Leap To Fame at his previous start, but thought the tight Albury circuit would be a help.
‘‘I thought if ever we are very going to beat him this was our chance,’’ Moran said.
Keen to keep Swayzee behind him in the run, Moran made an early move to the lead on Captain Hammerhead and although pursued in earnest over the marathon trip safely held the hot favourite at bay when they singled out to fight out the finish a long way from home.
Moran believes Captain Hammerhead is racing in career-best form and has plenty of options on his radar, including the Miracle Mile heats and also feature races in Western Australia to target in the near future.
Moran also has an upcoming date with the Supreme Court over the result of the Shepparton Gold Cup in early January when Captain Hammerhead was disqualified after being first past the post because Moran’s foot had protruded from the sulky’s footrest in the concluding stages of that race.
It has been a good week for Moran, who also produced five-year-old pacing mare On The Hunt to win at Tuesday night’s Shepparton meeting.
On The Hunt was urged to the front by Moran and was never in danger of being run down, rating a slick 1.55.1 PB for the 1690m trip in defeating the Laura Wilson-trained and -driven Alot Like Louie with Maas Betting Again filling the minor placing.
Ironically it was the exciting Laura Wilson-trained pacer Calexico who beat On The Hunt at their previous start, which persuaded punters to back On The Hunt into favouritism for Tuesday night’s assignment.
Hank breaks through
Shepparton-trained three-year-old pacer Im Hank became the seventh winner out of the Art Major broodmare Shes Norma Jeane when she saluted at Shepparton on Tuesday night.
Trained and driven by Charlene Gusman, Im Hank was having just his seventh trip to the races and fourth placings at his previous two starts suggested a win wasn’t far away.
After leading, Im Hank was never going to lose and comfortably held off challenges from King Saint and Roxella in 1.58.6 mile rate time for the 1690m trip.
Reactor fires up
Grand old mare Madam Reactor made it 12 career wins and edged towards the $100,000 Prizemoney Earnings Club when she saluted at Shepparton on Tuesday.
Trained at Elmore by Frank Barac and driven by Ryan Sanderson, the eight-year-old daughter of Auckland Reactor enjoyed the run of the race behind the pacesetter Sunstar and got the inside run to victory in front of a wall of challengers in a slick 1.56.7 mile rate for the 1690m trip.
It was the 128th time Madam Reactor has faced the starter and apart from her 12 wins she has had 30 minor placings, including 14 seconds.
Winning return
Promising Shepparton-trained pacer Its Confidential made it five wins from seven career starts when he saluted at the Albury Cup meeting.
Reinsman Ryan Sanderson made his move on the three-year-old son of Poster Boy at the bell and he outclassed his rivals over the concluding stages in a slick 1.56.9 mile rate for the 1770m trip.
Trained by Shepparton horseman Russell Jack, Its Confidential was resuming after a five-month spell and got the better of the second favourite and pacemaker Lenneth in the home straight.
Punters like what they see
It was a big night for northern Victoria-trained pacers at the Albury meeting.
Talented pacers I Like What I See, Scheming and Spirit Of Saraha were other winners from the Goulburn Valley at the meeting.
Trained by Don Rudd at Cobram and driven by Tasmyn Potter, I Like What I See, a seven-year-old Four Starzzz Shark mare, was confidently supported into a $1.65 favourite and never gave her backers any anxious moments after taking up the front-running position early over the 1770m trip.
It was I Like What I See’s fourth win from 35 career starts. There are also nine third placings in her race record.
Her first 11 starts were in the Newcastle area of NSW. She has had 24 starts for Rudd, which have produced three of her wins in her past four starts when driven by Potter.
Scheming too strong
Wahring horseman Danny Thackery and his reinswoman wife, Mel, struck a winning blow at the meeting with Scheming, who put up a gutsy run to edge out the Russell Jack-trained hot favourite and pacemaker Tupelo.
The Huntsman five-year-old mare was forced to race outside Tupelo in the run but still managed to rally strongly late to prevail.
It was the mare’s fifth career win in 28 tries with eight minor placings.
Shane shows spirit
Murchison trainer Shane Sanderson capped off the big night when he produced Spirit of Sahara for the most dominant win on the card.
Completing a driving double for Ryan Sanderson at the meeting, Spirit of Sahara outclassed his rivals with a dominant front-running display over the 1770m trip.
A three-year-old colt by Captain Crunch, Spirit Of Sahara got cheap sectionals in the first half of the last mile but zoomed home in 28.4 to street his rivals down the home straight.
Spirit of Sahara was having just his eighth start in a career that has produced two wins and three minor placings.
Eliza Hill does it again
Consistent mare Eliza Hill made it successive wins and three wins and a second at her past five starts when she scored at the Echuca meeting last Sunday.
The Mark Gledhill-trained and James Herbertson-driven five-year-old daughter of Racing Hill has won most of eight career wins in front-running roles, as was the case in her latest victory.
Herbertson utilised the mare’s barrier two draw and she led and then comfortably held all challengers at bay over the 1770m trip in a slick 1.54.8 mile rate.
Kimcando does enough
Another Goulburn Valley-trained winner at the Echuca meeting was pacer Kimcando, who saluted for Nagambie trainer-driver Kylie Sugars.
A four-year-old mare by American Ideal, Kimcando put up a tough run and her 1.58.2 mile rate for the 1755m trip was the quickest of her three wins in 23 career starts.
Kimcando is bred to be good.
Her dam was the Christian Cullen mare Jazzam, a winner of 24 races who has left three other winners.
Sheer class
The money said she was pretty slick and her performance matched the confidence.
Riverina-trained three-year-old filly Sheer Vitality took on the older pacers at Echuca in her race debut and gave them a flogging.
She beat the runner-up, the Donna Castles-driven Beryls Boots, a 125/1 shot, by nearly 12 metres, with the Craig Turnbull-trained Cooee filling the minor placing.
Sheer Vitality, trained by former Merrigum girl Ellen Jones (née Bartley) and driven by her husband, Blake, showed she was above the ordinary when she finished second in a trial on the Riverina Raceway at Wagga on January 31 in a 1.55.0 mile rate over the 1740m trip.
Enjoying life on the mainland
Former Tasmanian pacer Herakles is certainly enjoying the mainland air.
The five-year-old son of Hes Watching made it three wins from seven Victorian starts when he saluted at Echuca.
In two other runs since crossing Bass Strait he has also been runner-up.
Herakles is trained at Kyabram by Kristy Butler and has been driven in all his starts in Victoria by Mark Pitt.
In his latest win he led throughout over the 2160m trip and rated a respectable 1.59.2 in accounting for Swizzlestick and Bruised Ego.
It was his seventh career win from just the 24 career starts.
Meetings coming up in Victoria
Today: Geelong (n),
Saturday: Melton (n)
Sunday: Cranbourne (n)
Monday: Swan Hill (n)
Tuesday: Shepparton (n)
Wednesday: Charlton (d), Mildura (n)
Thursday: Kilmore (n)
Friday: Ararat (n)
Saturday: Melton (n)
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