I Didnt Do It records a strong win in the Sumthingaboutmaori FFA
Sundons Gift fans entered Friday night’s Sumthingaboutmaori Trotters Free-For-All thinking a promising five-year-old was all that stood between their hero and a spot in Australasian trotting’s millionaire’s club.
They were proven correct, but it wasn’t the five-year-old they expected.
I Didnt Do It assumed Danny Cash’s spot as the biggest threat to the dual Inter Dominion winner when he ran his more highly-fancied rivals a merry dance in the $20,000 Group 3.
Melton trainer Merv Williamson was thrilled to see the Sundon gelding make a successful return after a forgettable New Zealand campaign at the end of last year.
“It was a nice field, Danny Cash has been going really well and Sundons Gift, well what can you say about him, he’s a wonderful horse,” Williamson said.
“To be the first home after such a long time off, when we were worried about race fitness and everything else to do with New Zealand, it was a big relief to get it out of the way.”
I Didnt Do It, who had four starts in New Zealand and only finished in the top 10 once, was back to his brilliant front-running best in the 2240m mobile.
He made the most of barrier three to shoot to an early lead and although he had Sundons Gift poised imposingly to his outside from the 1700m and pulled hard through a 62-second first half of the last mile, he was still too strong.
I Didnt Do It backed up strong first and second quarters with 28.7 and 29.5sec closing sections for a 1:58.9 mile rate, which was just 0.7secs outside Afriti’s track record.
On the line the Jodi Quinlan-driven $7.70 chance had 2.3m to spare over Sundons Gift ($1.80 fav) with Kerryn Manning’s Danny Cash ($3.80), who was three-wide without cover from the 1100m, 6.6m away in third spot.
“When they got to the 400 and Sundons Gift wasn’t getting up to eyeball him and then Kerryn dropped to the pegs (on Danny Cash), I thought he had them in a bit of trouble as long as he could keep going,” Williamson said.
“From halfway round the turn I was pretty confident, but with a horse like Sundons Gift you can never be really confident until you hit the line.”
Chris Lang-trained champion Sundons Gift earned $3000 for his first-up second placing, leaving him just $4032 short of becoming the first Australian-trained trotter to crack $1 million in earnings.
Will get the chance to crack seven figures in the $35,000 Group 2 Tabcorp Australasian Breeders Crown Trotters Free-For-All on August 20, which is also Williamson’s winter target with I Didn’t Do It.
*** Friday night's other trotting event, the Graham Mulhall Vicbred Trotters Handicap, saw a brilliant return by the classy-but-erratic Down Under Muscles, who was one of three winners for champion reinsman Chris Alford.
