Starlight, star bright: Starlight Red put in a stellar performance at Shepparton.
It’s no wonder Newcastle businessman Kevin Gordon has a good word to say about David Moran.
Gordon was the person Moran went to when the Shepparton horseman attended a breeze-up sale at Menangle in 2016 when a gangly yearling colt by Modern Art took his eye.
When the Modern Art yearling was asked to stride in his breeze-up Moran was impressed with the ease he covered the ground with a huge stride and his almost perfect pacing action.
‘‘I know he wasn’t all that fashionably bred, but I really liked him and I asked Kevin to come aboard and buy him. We got him for $29,000 which might have seemed a lot at the time, but is now proving money very well spent,’’ Moran said.
Moran said he had an association with Gordon before Lochinvar Art came along.
‘‘Kevin first got in touch with me to train a horse called Lochinvar Delight for him a couple of years before and he went on to win about 10 races and it went from there,” Moran said.
While a trip to America for Lochinvar Art is still a possibility Moran said it wouldn’t be happening this year.
‘‘We’ve got the Newcastle Mile next week and then the Miracle Mile two weeks after that. Then there is a $100,000 race at Wagga we are looking at as well, so there’s plenty on for him at the moment and I couldn’t see us going this year,’’ he said.
Saturday night’s Hunter Cup win was Lochinvar Art’s 28th from 50 starts and the $285,000 prizemoney for first swelled his earnings to $1,368,456.
Former politician and Shepparton identity Don Kilgour is first to admit he is not a fanatical harness racing fan.
But he has always held a casual interest in the sport and if it’s a district-trained horse or a local horseman doing well he becomes a lot more attentive.
Even more so if that horse carries a “champion” tag.
As a former Nationals member for Shepparton in the Victorian Legislative Assembly and radio announcer Kilgour is well tuned in knowing if you have a champion in your community you make the most it.
It can bring loads of free publicity and even economic advantages to your town and district.
That’s why Kilgour jumped on the phone on Sunday after reading the Sunday Sun.
After perusing the sports pages he was astounded there was not one mention of Lochinvar Art’s win in Victoria’s and arguably Australia’s greatest harness race — the $500,000 Hunter Cup.
Kilgour wanted to know why and began a search which ended with former Shepparton News journalist and former sports editor of the Herald Sun Danny Russell providing some answers.
Russell was able to tell him country editions of the Sunday Sun have a 9pm Saturday deadline for copy and the Hunter Cup had been run
after that deadline.
A later city edition did carry a small story, but Kilgour protested it wasn’t given the space it deserved.
‘‘Lochinvar Art is not only good for the sport, but he is good for Shepparton and the Goulburn Valley area in general and he should get all the accolades he deserves,’’ Kilgour said.
‘‘If he continues to do what he’s been doing he’ll keep Shepparton on the map and will also attract a lot of interest from the general public and just not harness racing fans.”
Maybe it’s time for Greater Shepparton City leaders to acknowledge the fabulous feats Lochinvar Art has already achieved?
Echuca trainer Wayne Lear savoured his most significant win in the sport when the trotter he trains, Aldebaran Poppy, claimed the Aldebaran Park Platinum Trotting Mares Sprint Championship, at the Great Southern Star meeting at Melton on Friday night.
Driven the perfect race by top reinsman Greg Sugars, Aldebaran Poppy finished powerfully from a one-one sit to prevail in a busy finish over Di Li and the favourite Lucinda Mac in 1:59.7 mile rate for the 1720m trip.
The win continued a purple patch of form for Aldebaran Poppy, whose last five starts have produced four wins and a second.
Aldebaran Poppy has been in the Lear barn since she was bought as a two-year-old off leading Sydney trainer Blake Fitzpatrick, who specialises in training squaregaiters.
‘‘Blake said she wouldn’t make a two-year-old and put her on the market and it went from there,’’ Lear said.
Lear said the key to the mare’s recent patch of form was in a change of attitude.
‘‘She always showed she had a lot of ability, but always raced too fiercely. She is a lot more settled now.’’
Lear races the mare in partnership with his wife Shar and daughter Nicole and Swan Hill’s Noel and Jack Henery and Lisa Ross.
A seven-year-old daughter of Skyvalley, Aldebarn Poppy’s share
of the $30,000 prizemoney was $17,000 and took her winnings close to $60,000 from eight wins and 11 placings from 48 starts.
Lear, night manager for the Moama Bakery, trains two horses.
It was a good night for the Kyvalleys and Skyvalleys at the Great Southern Star meeting.
Apart from Aldebaran Poppy’s success, winner of a $50,000 heat and the $300,000 final of Australasia’s richest race for trotters, the Great Southern Star, Tornado Valley is also by the champion Skyvalley, owned and raced by Kyvalley mega owner Jim Connelly and now based at Aldebaran Park.
Connelly also enjoyed a win at the meeting with the promising three-year-old trotter Kyvalley Hotspur, who outclassed his rivals to notch his third win from eight starts.
Art Major three-year-old Narutac Prince made a winning debut for trainer David Aiken at last week’s Shepparton meeting.
With some impressive trial form on the Shepparton track Narutac Prince was well found by punters, who didn’t lose any sweat in the run after the horse was sent to the front early by reinsman Josh Aiken, who dictated terms from then on.
Narutac Prince carved out an impressive 1:56.4 mile rate for the 1690m trip which included a sizzling 55.9 last half which put paid to his rivals.
The promising pacer’s only other start was in August when he ran second at Stawell when prepared by Geoff Webster.
The father-son team of Ray and Leigh Sutton struck at Shepparton with Western Terror four-year-old Onecrowdedhour.
In his second outing since June, Leigh put Onecrowdedhour into the race 1300m from home when he took the pacer from second last to the death seat.
He then released the brakes with 500m to go and Onecrowdedhour quickly put paid to his rivals, careering away to beat the runnerup Falling Shards by a whopping 28m in the easiest win of the night.
It was Onecrowdedhour’s eighth attempt to break his maiden status and he certainly did it in style for his hard working farrier trainer Ray.
Onecrowdedhour had always shown he had ability with his third start producing a close second at Bendigo.
Pacer Kissmelvis’ liking for the Shepparton track was evident again last week.
The seven-year-old Rocknroll Hanover gelding led from pillar-topost to hoist his fifth win for his Avenel trainer-driver Ian Montgomery.
And three of these wins have been at Shepparton.
Kissmelvis posted a slick 1:56.4 for the 1690m trip which was a PB.
Punters who backed trotter Willdomxav and pacer Misskontiki did some sweating in successive races at Shepparton.
Both got the verdict by the smallest possible margin — a short halfhead — in races six and seven respectively.
Consistent trotter Willdomxav notched his second win for Rochester horseman Neville Pangrazio.
The four-year-old Tennotrumps gelding raced on the pace for the 2190m trip and prevailed in a bobof-the-head finish with the pacemaker and favourite Aldebaran Alissa.
Despite seconds at Bendigo and Shepparton at his previous two starts Willdomxav paid a handsome $11.70 for the win.
His two wins from 20 starts have been at Shepparton.
Misskontiki saluted for Euroa horseman Cameron Maggs with an all-the-way performance.
The Western Terror four-year-old mare got the photo finish verdict over the Geoff Martin-trained and Josh Aiken-driven roughie Drifting.
Bred by Shepparton’s Noel Pattison and his son Dean, Misskontiki has been consistent in her early racing career with two wins and six minor placings.
Avenel trainer Wayne Potter maintained his perfect record with pacer Boy From Bondi at Shepparton.
The seven-year-old Somebeachsomewhere gelding was having his third start for Potter and was coming off wins at Kilmore and Bendigo.
Concession reinsman Jordan Leedham produced a confident drive on Boy From Bondi, sending him to the death seat with 1300m to go, before surging to the front at the 500m mark and then comfortably holding off all challengers in the run to the judge.
Formerly prepared by Ian Montgomery, who won five races with him, Boy From Bondi now boasts eight wins with 12 minor placings from 41 trips to the races which have produced more than $47,000 in prizemoney.
Leedham has driven the pacer to his last two wins and Chis Alford was in the sulky for his first win for Potter.
Trotter Starlight Red burst back into the winner’s circle with a dashing all-the-way performance at Shepparton.
Driven by Laura Crossland for Bunbartha trainer Brian Bourke, Starlight Red led her rivals a merry dance.
She was well clear of her rivals for most of the 2190m trip in posting her fourth win — there have also been 13 placings — from 63 starts.
Avenel trainer David Aiken has made a habit of upsetting more fancied rivals in big races with trotter Big Jack Hammer in recent seasons and will be looking to do the same at Melton tomorrow night.
Aiken will line-up Big Jack Hammer from a poleline draw in the $50,000 Group One Aldebaran Park The Knight Pistol.
Big Jack Hammer hasn’t raced since September and has some talented rivals to contend with in his return to racing, but it won’t be the first time he has upstaged more fancied rivals if he does cause an upset.
A seven-year-old record was broken at Wednesday night’s Shepparton meeting by the Andy Gathtrained trotter Monaro Maro.
Monaro Maro scooted over the 1690m trip in a heat of the Lyn McPherson Memorial Breed for Speed Gold Series in 1:55.8 mile rate time which bettered the record of 1:56.2 set by the David Aikentrained Vic Cheval in March 2014.
More on this week’s Shepparton meeting in next week’s Sulky Shorts.
Today: Ararat (n).
Tomorrow: Melton (n).
Sunday: St Arnaud at Charlton (d).
Monday: Warragul (d).
Tuesday: Mildura (n).
Wednesday: Bendigo (n).
Thursday: Ballarat (n).
