Smoken Up The List Of Greats

29 May 2009
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Smoken Up leads home Karlsruhe in the Captain Sandy FFA, the star gelding's 10th win at Moonee Valley

Smoken Up leads home Karlsruhe in the Captain Sandy FFA, the star gelding's 10th win at Moonee Valley

Smoken Up took another step towards recognition as one of Victorian harness racing’s all-time top performers with victory in Friday night’s $20,000 Captain Sandy Free-For-All at Moonee Valley.

The Lance Justice-trained star became only the 18th standardbred to have won at least 10 metro-class races at the Valley at a strike rate of better than 50% since computer records were first kept in 1980.
A soft 1:59.4 win was the former Kiwi’s 10th win from 19 starts at the venue that has been the home of Victorian harness racing for 33 years.
That gives him a winning strike rate of 52.6%. While not quite up there with Popular Alm, La Coocaracha, Scotch Notch or Our Maestro – who won at least three-quarters of their Valley runs – it is a better figure than the horse Smoken Up has been compared to since joining Justice in February 2007.
Dual Australian Horse of the Year Sokyola won 27 of 53 starts at Moonee Valley at a strike rate of 51%.
Punters were delighted to see the son of Tinted Cloud secure his place among harness racing’s elite with the 27th win of his 55-start career.
He went around a $1.40 favourite and unlike last start when he had to pull out all stops to deny Diamonds N Furs in the Bold David FFA, at no stage did he ever look like getting rolled in the Captain Sandy.
He led easily from barrier five and once he was able to coast through the first half of the last mile in 63 seconds those who anchored the six-year-old in the first leg of the BIG6 were giggling.
He went down the back in 28.8 seconds, which enabled him to pull out a 27.4-second final split for a three-metre win over Karlsruhe ($11), who sat on Smoken Up’s back and finished hard once gaining access to the sprint lane.
Diamond N Furs’ ($5.20) chances were ruined when he had to go back to last from his outside-front-row draw, while the other fancied runner, Bold Cruiser ($8.80), was a nose away in fourth spot.
*** The feature race for the open-age trotters was the $20,000 Group 3 VSB&SA Lightfoot Laurels, which resulted in a dashing win to in-form Sundon mare Maori Sunshine.
The Neville Pangrazio-trained five-year-old provided Vicbred-winning reinsman Chris Alford with the first leg of a feature-race double when she led for most of the 2575m to record a fourth-straight win.
The $5.20 chance rated 2:07.6 on her way to a 4-1/4-metre win over Karamboo ($8.50), while Right Interest ($30) showed a return to form to grab third spot just in advance of $3.50 popular elect Gluteus Maximus.
Stunning Valley Strike Rates: Popular Alm (13 wins from 15 starts – 87%), La Coocaracha (10 from 13 – 77%), Scotch Notch (28 from 37 – 76%), Our Maestro (12 from 16 – 75%), Low Man (12 from 17 – 71%), Gold Share (16 from 23 – 70%), Blatant Lie (16 from 27 – 59%), Sundons Gift (12 from 21 – 57%), Jadah Rose (12 from 21 – 57%), Bag Limit (14 from 25 – 56%), Shakamaker (19 from 34 – 56%), Tailamade Lombo (18 from 33 – 55%), Riverlea Jack (15 from 28 – 54%), Hyperstat (16 from 30 – 53%), Jack Brandon (11 from 21 – 52%), Sokyola (27 from 53 – 51%), Sir Reilly (15 from 30 – 50%).

 

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