8 December 2004
Lets Thank Heaven for Australian Gold Fillies Final
Australian Pacing Gold three-year-old action comes to Brisbane
this Saturday night with two $100,000 finals at Albion Park.
The features - one for fillies, the other for colts
and geldings - will be held from the mobile over the middle distance journey of
2138 metres.
Visitors are well-represented in the finals, with the
Victorian-trained Lets Thank Heavens certain to run at long odds-on in the
fillies final.
'The Prodigal Son,' former Brisbane-based
trainer-driver Alan Donohoe returned from his Melbourne base last
Saturday to win the $10,000 Preview. Lets Thank Heaven
(f, 3, Presidential Ball-Our Run Gigi), who was bred
by John Gibson, of Success Stud at Young, in the central west of New South
Wales, is overseas-owned.
The filly, whose sire took all before him with his
first local crop last term, is raced by North American-based cousins, Gordon
Banks and Marc Hanover.
The pair paid $42,000 for the filly at the Melbourne
Australian Pacing Gold sale, and she has more than repaid that initial
investment, with prizemoney on the cusp of $150,000.
Lets Thank Heaven finished second to White Thunder in
the $300,000 two-year-old Gold final, also at Albion Park, and she goes into
the final this placings at all but one of her 11
starts, including five wins, of which two have been at her past three outings.
The Kay Seymour Nursery Pace winner, Lets Thank Heaven
was untroubled in leading throughout at $1.30 favourite in her preview win in a
comfortable 2:02 rate.
Sydney-trained Miss Natalie (f, 3, Fake Left-Kayla
Jay) tried hard for second for trainer-driver John Micallef,
with local Village Beauty, who finished second in the Kay Seymour, again
placing behind Lets Thank Heaven, with third.
A $7500 purchase at the Brisbane Gold sale,
Village Beauty (f, 3, Village Jasper-Forever Young now skites stake-earnings of
more than $85,000.
Additional finalists to the horses which competed in
the Preview are the Jayne Davies-trained Victorian pair of Starry Rainbow and Lombo Portrait.
Stable driver Chris Alford, who has an imposing
Australian Pacing Gold record, has his choice of the drives.
Starry Rainbow, a Yarra Glen winner two starts ago,
finished third at Charlton last time out and has drawn best at gate four.
Lomo Portrait, who made it
back-to-back wins at Warragul then Maryborough before finishing third at
Kilmore, has come up with the outside of the second tier.
At her last start, Lombo
Portrait tailed home Lets Thank Heaven, who finished
second in the race won by Perfect Gold Lombo.
The barrier draw has loosened Lets Thank Heaven's
stranglehold on the Gold - she has drawn the awkward inside of the second row.
The colts appears a match
between the Sydney-trained visitors Make Me Smile and George Sloy and the local multiple winner, Sir Galvinator.
Australian Pacing Gold is holding five national sales
early next year, for which catalogues will be issued from this month.
Only catalogued lots are available to compete in the
corresponding Australian Pacing Gold race series, which carries more than
$1million in stakes.?
Catalogues are available by freecalling
1800 280 699.