Aleppo Jewel and Kerryn Manning impress at Maryborough in the Race to Royalty heats.
The all-important line-ups (pre-barrier draw) for the Group 1 TAB Breeders Crown trotting gait finals were today announced by Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) following yesterday’s heats at Maryborough.
Brilliant juvenile Wobelee, a son of Down Under Muscles, was at his finest yesterday for reinsman Chris Alford in the Aldebaran Park 2YO Trotting Colts/Geldings third heat, destroying his rivals by 15.5 metres at the prohibitive odds of $1.04.
As the skinny odds suggest, the trouncing was predictable and Wobelee will be shooting for his 10th straight triumph come next Sunday at Tabcorp Park Melton. He looks the day’s ‘moral’ already.
La Grange (by Muscle Hill out of La Coocaracha) was the other male 2YO to salute in his heat for the powerful Anton Golino camp. In fact, Golino put the polish on three heat winners yesterday so has plenty of soldiers representing Yabby Dam Racing next week. Reinsman Zac Phillips meanwhile jagged a winning double to continue his stellar season.
La Coocaracha, a freakishly talented trotting filly and mare in her day, nowadays is renowned as a producer of quality squaregaiters. Yesterday two of her progeny tasted Race to Royalty success in their heats, with dynamo 3YO filly Dance Craze – a full-sister to La Grange – also victorious in her qualifier.
Dance Craze will take a power of beating on Grand Final day at Melton, but stablemate Une Belle Allure cruised home in her 3YO heat, the Angus Hall-Glenferrie Unixa filly swaggering home with almost 10m to spare over her nearest rival Skyeski.
Yesterday’s mile rates saw Une Belle Allure – who beat Dance Craze to win the Derby at Maryborough earlier this month – clocking 2:03.3 and Dance Craze stopping the clock at a quicker 2:01.7. Will that mean much come next Sunday? It’s going to be a heck of a clash.
In terms of sheer dominance yesterday Kerryn Manning’s Angus Hall-Insulated 2YO filly Aleppo Jewel couldn’t have been more emphatic.
After a couple of unplaced runs behind the tapes that resulted in her displaying head-banging moves more akin to a fan at an ACDC concert, Aleppo Jewel’s youthful exuberance became a thing of the past. She moved faultlessly and had her rivals absolutely thunderstruck, romping in by almost 25m in 2:05.5.
Not to be outdone Kiwi Our Renezmae took out her 2YO fillies’ heat but had to dig for it, challenged fiercely by Moonshine Linda at the finish and it took a photo finish to separate them. The final margin was the shortest of half-heads in favour of the bay by The Pres out of City Lane for trainer Jack Harrington and reinsman Anthony Butt.
Wife and husband team Kate and Andy Gath combined in the Woodlands Stud Breeders Crown 3YO male division third heat to achieve success with War Spirit, which won by 2.2m over Empire Bay.
War Spirit, by Monarchy, was inconvenienced early and the race probably didn’t go as planned. But horse and driver worked their way through it and got the job done in style, rating 2:02.3.
An exciting Sundon gelding by the name of Jilliby Babavska will clash with War Spirit and co. in the 3YO boys’ final after he blitzed his rivals in the fourth heat, making it three wins on the spin. Trained out of Terang by Paddy Lee and driven by Glen Craven, Jilliby Babavska clocked a 2:03.1 mile rate.
The Race to Royalty spotlight turns to the pacers tomorrow night at Bendigo for Semi-Finals night. Trots Media will have all the action from the night, including interviews with trainers, drivers and of course the live barrier draws as they occur via www.facebook.com/harnessracingvictoria
Catch the action live on Sky Racing 1 (Channel 526 on Foxtel), RSN at 927am on radio or streamed online.
Check out all the Breeders Crown markets at tab.com.au
Breeders Crown Trotting Finals Fields
3YO Trotting C&G
ALDEBARAN PRINCE
CLARKES HILL
CLAUDYS PRINCE
EMPIRE BAY
HAMMERS LAW
JILLIBY BABAVSKA
KHEIRON
MANO DE DIOS
ON FAST FORWARD
THE MALE MODEL NZ
TRUSCOTT HALL
WAR SPIRIT NZ
THE SPANYEN (1st Emerg)
3YO Trotting Fillies
ANDYOU
BIGONLUCK
BREEZIN AROUND
CHEVRON EXPRESS NZ
DANCE CRAZE
FOUR WALLS
HIDING MY HEART FIN
HOTJANE BLING
IONA SPIDER
KINVARA SUE
SKYESKI
UNE BELLE ALLURE
DOWNTOWN MISS (1st Emerg)
2YO Trotting C&G
BEBUBBALOUIE
IMPERIAL WHIZ NZ
KYVALLEY FRANK
LA GRANGE
MAJESTIC EYES
MEZIAH
MORE SHADES OF GOLD NZ
ONE MUSCLE HILL NZ
RUNAWAY SUCCESS
SMASHTHEMCALDER
WHIZZBANG DAN
WOBELEE
TOMAHAWK PHOENIX (1st Emerg)
2YO Trotting Fillies
ALEPPO JEWEL
ALLTHEMOVES
AMOUR DE FRERE NZ
FAIRYTALE HALL
HADES SKY
LOUIEVILLE LASS
MEADOW VALLEY SKY
MISS KAIKOURA NZ
MOONSHINE LINDA
MORESUCCESS
OUR RENEZMAE NZ
PRINCESSA RUTH
DI LI (1st Emerg)
Media enquiries to:
Cody Winnell (HRV Media/Communications Manager)
t: 03 8378 0288 | e: cwinnell@hrv.org.au | tw: @codywinnell
