Champion pacer Lennytheshark returns to racing in tomorrow night’s Group One $100 000 Ballarat Pacing Cup.
The David Aiken-trained and Chris Alford-driven eight-year-old will be making his first appearance since contesting the Inter Dominion final in Perth last month, when he placed seventh in the final, but less than 10 m from the winner, the New Zealand freak Lazarus.
Lenny has drawn inside the second row in the testing 2710 m journey tomorrow night, with another Goulburn Valley-trained pacer The Faithful coming from gate five.
Aiken has warned punters an interrupted preparation going into the race would not have helped Lenny’s chances.
He had to stay in Perth for two weeks after the Inter Dominion final before he got a flight home and he was to trial between races at last Saturday night’s Shepparton Cup meeting, which was called off.
‘‘I trialled him at Kilmore on Tuesday and was quite happy with his final 800 m, but his main missions at the moment are the Hunter Cup and Miracle Mile,’’ Aiken said.
Aiken also has two runners — Higherthananeagle and Beltane — contesting heats of the Victoria Derby tomorrow night along with Shepparton trainers Amanda Turnbull (War Dan), Clive Dalton (Calabria) and Dave Farrar (Heres A Real Go).
The consistent David Abrahamstrained Fabrication will also contest another of the features at the meeting, the Group Two $30 000 EB Cochrane Trotters Cup.
he Shepparton Gold Cup meeting was called off last Saturday night after six races because of a power outage, but not before some Kyabram owners celebrated a win with their pacer.
Peter Hall, Rob Whitford, John Linford and Tony Hansen own and race Winkanditsover, who blew his rivals away in a C1 only class race.
Despite drawing the outside the front row in the 1690 m dash, reinsman Ryan Duffy was able to cross the field at barrier rise to take up the front running. From then on he was never headed, giving none of his rivals a chance with a 56.9 last half and a mile rate of 1:55.1.
Trained by Shepparton horseman Steve Duffy, Winkanditsover looks destined for better things on that run, which was his third win from five starts with two seconds and a fourth since returning from a winless South Australian campaign.
The Shepparton Cup will be restaged on Saturday night, April 28.
Exciting three-year-old Maraetai showed why his connections were thinking Victoria Derby and why he was one of the shortest priced runners to grace the track in a long time when he donkey-licked the older pacers in the Graeme Head Memorial at Shepparton last Saturday night.
The Emma Stewart-trained and Chris Alford-driven Somebeachsomewhere gelding cruised home with more than 30 m to spare over the runner-up, the David Abrahams Bettors Delight debutant Extortion, who was an 80-1 shot, with the Barry Gasketttrained An Alliance filling the minor placing for reinsman David Moran.
Maraetai, who was a $1.04 chance, kept his perfect record in place with his win, completing a hat-trick of victories at his only three outings to date.
Outing four will be at tomorrow night’s Ballarat Cup meeting when he tackles a heat of the Victoria Derby from barrier 10.
Picture: Holly DanielFor joy to dismay: Shepparton horsewoman Laura Crossland claimed a double with Scotty Titian (pictured) and Sky Majesty at Melton last Friday night, but copped two three-week suspensions for causing interferences in each of her winning drives.
Shepparton horsewoman Laura Crossland had a profitable, but also sweet-bitter experiences at Melton last Friday.
Crossland landed a training and driving double with Scotty Titian and Sky Majesty.
Scotty Titian completed a hattrick of wins with his success in an M0 race when he stormed over his rivals at the finish to win at the remarkable tote odds of 18-1.
The pacer was coming off wins at previous starts in the Leeton Cup on January 1 and at Swan Hill before that and has had seven starts for Crossland for five wins.
She is also building up a remarkable strike rate with trotting mare Sky Majesty, who won at TM0 class when a hot $1.50 favourite .
Sky Majesty’s win also boosted the Skyvalley five-year-old’s earnings to more than $100 000.
Crossland has also turned this trotter’s fortunes around dramatically and has produced the mare 15 times for seven wins, six seconds a fourth and a sixth since taking over her training in June last year.
But it was not all celebrations with the wins of Scotty Titian and Sky Majesty.
Stewards ruled she had caused interference in both races she won and delivered her two three-week suspension periods to be served cumulatively.
Shepparton reinsman Ryan Duffy made a good start to the Central Victorian Concession Drivers Championship when piloted the Robbie Walters-trained Paddy Mach to victory in the first race of the series at Boort on Monday.
Duffy again did his fast-rising reputation as a competent reinsman no harm by weaving his way from second last and on the rails into some clear running turning for home to win.
It was the first time Duffy had driven the former Tasmanian pacer, who has had six Victorian starts for two wins and two seconds.
One of the best results of last Saturday night’s aborted Shepparton Cup meeting was no doubt the win of Roll With It in the John Brain Memorial Pace.
The winner was fittingly won by a pacer trained by David Aiken and driven by his son Josh.
Roll With It, a $5 chance on the tote, wore down the favourite, the Emma Stewart-trained Ample Power, who was also big in defeat, in the concluding of the race for C4-C5 class pacers.
John Brain, who succumbed to that cruel disease motor neurone last year, was a big supporter of the Aiken stable and was in the syndicate that raced top pacers Smudge Bromac and Wartime Sweetheart.
Not only did Roll With It record his 11th career win in his latest success, he equalled the track record of 1:53.9 for the 1690 m trip at Shepparton.
He shares the record with Highview Ruler, who set that time in December 2016.
A five-year-old son of Rock N Roll Heaven out of the former smart Troublemaker mare Dazed And Confused, Roll With It is closing in fast in being a member of the $100 000 stake money earners club.
His Shepparton win has taken his earnings to nearly $96 000.
Echuca trainer Fay McEwan has scaled down her team considerably in recent years, but this week gave a reminder she can still produce a winner.
At Bendigo on Tuesday night, McEwan produced lightly-raced Majestic Time to win a three-yearold trotters race at only his fourth start in a race.
Driven by Josh Duggan, Majestic Time raced on the pace and caused a boilover by downing the long odds-on favourite Muscle Hill.
Majestic Time was a 15-1 shot, despite coming off an impressive trial win the previous week at Shepparton.
By Majestic Sun, Majestic Time is out of Dream Vacation broodmare Leavemein, who won three races and was placed 11 times in just 25 career starts.
Avenel horseman Josh Aiken also enjoyed a win at the meeting when he partnered the John McHughtrained Joy Mac to win a C0 only class race at 15-1.
A set of half hopples did the trick for Kyabram trotter Jackson Square at Melton last Monday night.
Jackson Square had won two starts previously at Yarra Valley when resuming from a spell and was in a winning position at his next start at Bendigo when he broke into a pace.
But Blackmore said the addition of a set of half hopples to Jackson Square’s gear for Monday night’s assignment had done the trick, with the four-year-old putting in a flawless sub two-minute rate for reinsman John Caldow.
Blackmore believes the fouryear-old, bred and raced by Stanhope trots stalwart Mac Poole, has the ability to win more races.
It is full steam ahead for bonny trotting mare Sky Petite, who was a late withdrawal from The George Gath feature event at Shepparton last Saturday night.
Shepparton trainer Dean Pattison spotted swelling in a hind leg last Saturday afternoon and took no chances by scratching the mare.
But Sky Petite is back on track for a crack at the upcoming Great Southern Star on January 27 if she gets a run in the $300 000 feature.
‘‘She knocked her leg, but everything is okay and we are hoping she can get a run in the Great Southern Star, which would be her next start,’’ Pattison said
