Comeback on cards
Superstar Shepparton pacer Lochinvar Art is on the comeback trail and in the closing stages of a training campaign which could lead to a Shepparton Cup return mid-January.
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Trainer-driver David Moran said he was more than pleased with how the rising Modern Art six-year-old was progressing and said he was only a week or two off trialling.
‘‘He feels terrific and is almost ready to trial,’’ Moran said this week.
Moran said, all progressing well, he hadn’t ruled out a start in defending the Shepparton Gold Cup on January 15 as a possible comeback race.
Lochinvar Art has not raced since February 6 this year when he won at Melton to complete a six-race winning streak which included the Hunter, Shepparton and Ballarat cups and the Vicbred final for four-year-old geldings and entires.
It was after the Hunter Cup triumph on February 6 this year that it was discovered he had suffered a fractured cannon bone that necessitated a long lay-off.
One of the best pacers of the modern era, Lochinvar Art has amassed $1.368 million in prize money earnings from 28 wins and 19 minor placings.
Melton moments
Shepparton-trained pacer Repelling rocked punters when he claimed a semi-final of the Vicbred Super Series for two-year-old colts and geldings at Melton on Wednesday night.
The Isabel Walsh-prepared son of Somebeachsomewhere defied the 100-1 fixed odds he started at to win his spot in the lucrative final tonight week.
Reinsman Leigh Sutton parked Repelling on the back of the pacemaker Sweetpassion in the run and then held off the fast-finishing David Moran-driven Captain Rival in the run to the judge, rating 1.56.8 for the 2240m trip to record his second win from 10 career starts.
Repelling ran fourth in his heat of the series at Shepparton on December 14 when he was a 70-1 shot to qualify for the semi-final, and prior to that had chalked up three successive top-three places.
Repelling is out of the Dream Away mare Repelem, a 1.52.9 performer who won 41 of her 78 starts and is a half-sister to the Emma Stewart-trained Joanna, a 12-time winner who finished a gallant second to champion Stewart-prepared stablemate, the David Moran-driven Ladies In Red, in a three-year-old fillies semi-final at Melton on Wednesday night.
Moran also drove another of the Stewart team, Honolua Bay, to win his semi-final for the four-year-old entires and geldings, while another Shepparton driver, Bec Bartley, also claimed a semi-final for three-year-old colts and geldings on the Stewart-trained Longfellow.
Stewart produced winners of six semi-finals at the meeting.
Flamin’ hot form
Undera horseman Glen Freeman produced lightly raced five-year-old gelding Flamin Steel for his maiden win at his 16th try at the Cobram meeting.
Early urging from reinsman Leigh Sutton to take up the front-running position on the son of Bettors Delight paid dividends, prevailing in a tight finish with The Trainman with Mynameisruby a distant third.
Flamin Steel had been working up to the win with five top five finishes in his past six starts and he was well in demand by punters as a $4 chance on the tote.
Not Bad at all
He is not the highest profile trotting stallion available to breeders but he would get a good reference from Byrneside horseman Damian Wilson.
Wilson trains two trotters by former dashing Sundon trotter Bad Boy Truscott, a winner of 14 races and who also raced in the United States.
One of them is Kalarney Heidi, a winner of eight races.
The other is Bad As Now who notched his fifth career win at last Friday’s Cobram meeting.
Bad As Now won in a busy finish from an outsider, the Mark Lee-trained and driven Miss Tipsy, with the unlucky Cmon Carl Lee third for young reinsman Mitchell Rowney who was chasing his first win as a reinsman.
Bad As Now rated a PB 2.01.6 for the 2170m trip and apart from his five wins there has been 12 minor pacing from his 32 lifetime starts, meaning he has top three placings in more than half his starts.
Kalarney Heidi boasts a similar strike rate with 28 minor placings to go with her eight wins from 72 career starts.
Both Bad As Now and Kalarney Heidi were bred by popular veteran horseman Brian King, now living in Mooroopna, and are owned and raced by another Mooroopna-ite, Peter Cordy.
Sharp-shooter
Young pacer Red Hot Assassin has taken just four starts to post his first win.
The two-year-old Shaun Kittel-trained son of Four Starzzz Shark was given the run of the race on the pace by reinswoman Laura Crossland and zipped home in 27.5 along the sprint lane to secure the win at the Cobram meeting.
He accounted for the Craig Turnbull-trained and Abbey Turnbull-driven last start Wagga winner Alfresco with the Russell Jack-trained and Leigh Sutton-driven odds-on favourite Dance With Somebody filling the minor placing.
Red Hot Assassin is out of the Barnett Hanover mare Sweet Barney, a winner of six races.
Total Eclipse
Promising pacer Diamond Eclipse made it two wins from just eight career starts when he saluted at the Cobram meeting.
The three-year-old Pet Rock gelding was given the run of the race by trainer-driver John Newberry on the back of the pacemaker and favourite Roslyn Gaye and prevailed, via the sprint lane, over the fast-finishing outsider Presidentslastlady.
A half-brother to another of the Newberry-bred team, the talented Diamond Ace, a winner of 15 races, Diamond Eclipse had top-three finishes at his previous three starts but still returned a nice dividend of $6.50 on the win tote.
Better has best Day
Four-year-old pacer Better Day claimed his fourth win for the season when he saluted for Avenel trainer Wayne Potter at the Cobram meeting.
Driven by Jordan Leedham, the son of Betterthancheddar tracked up behind Jets Art from near last over the final circuit and got the better of that pacer in the concluding stages with a powerful finishing surge.
Better Day didn’t make his racetrack debut until June last year and has now won six races with five minor placings from 22 starts.
Successful outing
Kyabram-trained Senitas Success made a successful return to racing in claiming a Vicbred Super Series heat for three-year-old trotting fillies at Maryborough on Monday.
The Mick Blackmore-trained daughter of Muscle Mass hadn’t raced since late October but obviously benefited from a freshen up to score a dominant all-the-way win in a three-year-old fillies heat.
Driven by James Herbertson, Senitas Success zipped home in a slick 58 seconds neat to leave her rivals standing in scoring her fifth career win from 20 career starts.
Lucky 13
You have to be extra smart to win 13 races in succession but that’s what young trotter Plymouth Chubb has achieved.
Trained by legendary Great Western horseman Peter Manning, the son of Majestic Son, driven by Kerryn Manning, played with his rivals again in claiming a heat of the Vicbred Super Series for two-year-old colts and geldings at the Maryborough meeting on Monday to continue his winning sequence.
His only loss was on debut at Melton in March this year when he broke and was tailed off.
He recorded a PB mile rate of 1.56.6 over the 1609m (mile) trip at his previous start at Bendigo and will be the one to beat in the final.
The only two-year-old trotter who might be able to extend Plymouth Chubb could be the Dean and Blanche Poole-bred Im A Bit Touchy, who won her Super Series fillies heat in dashing style and looks the one to beat in the final.
The prize is right
There will sweeping prize money changes for group racing across Australia from season 2023.
Tighter guidelines involving group status under the proposal will see minimum of $150,000 for Group One races, up from $100,000, and a minimum of $75,000 for trotters, increased from $50,000.
There will be a minimum of $75,000 for Group Two racing for pacers and $50,000 for trotters while Group Three racing has a minimum threshold of $50,000 for pacers and $20,000 for trotters.
The new model which has been approved by Harness Racing Australia will mean only the richest races will earn group status and draw the best horses.
Happy new year
Echuca Harness Racing Club is looking to a return to boom times for its traditional New Year’s Day night meeting at the Frank Ryan Raceway tomorrow night week, Saturday, January 1, 2022.
The club is looking to have the crowds back in force for its best attended meeting of the year.
Club secretary Hope Gamble said all the off-track attractions to cater for all age groups would again feature at the meeting, the only harness racing meeting in Victoria on New Year’s Day.
‘‘We would like to see the big crowds back again and there is a prize money boost for some races,’’ Mrs Gamble said.
Feature events on the nine-event card will be the Moama Bowling Club New Year’s Cup and the Frank and Carmel Ryan Memorial with both events carrying prize money of $10,000.
Gates will open at 5pm.
Meetings coming up:
Today: Bendigo (d)
Saturday: No racing
Sunday: Ballarat (n)
Monday: Cranbourne (d), Mildura (n)
Tuesday: Shepparton (n)
Wednesday: Geelong (n)
Thursday: Hamilton (d), Bendigo (n)
Friday: Melton (n)
Sports reporter