King King of of the the castle: castle: Steve Boyington enjoyed success with Kings Guard at Shepparton on Sunday.
Shepparton trainers took Melton by storm early last Saturday night with the first two winners and three from the first five races.
In the opening event Shepparton trainer-driver Connor Crook scored with Montana Storm before Russell Jack claimed the next race with trotter Lettuce Trot.
Crook got Montana Storm, a 5/1 chance, home in a crowded finish with little more than 2m separating the first four placegetters.
A Bettors Delight five-year-old, Montana Storm has now won two races, both at Melton, and has had three other top four finishes in seven starts since Crook took over the gelding’s training.
Lettuce Trot made it six wins and four minor placings from 15 starts.
Leigh Sutton was in the sulky and gave the four-year-old Tin Tin In America the run of the race, stalking the pacemaker Bohemian Rhapsody and then making a winning move back to the inside running after getting off the pegs on the home turn.
Lettuce Trot has been a challenge for Jack at times, but when right is a talented performer as he showed with his latest win.
After Lettuce Trot’s win Little Miss Lilly’s bid to complete the hat-trick of wins by Shepparton trainers just failed when she finished second.
But Shepparton was back in the spotlight two races later when another of its trainers Steve Duffy and his reinsman son Ryan combined to win with talented pacer Serg Blanco.
Serg Blanco got home by a head from the favourite Ever Hoping to claim his ninth win from 40 starts.
Four of these wins and seven minor placings have come from 17 starts Duffy has given the pacer since his arrival from New Zealand.
He goes around again at tomorrow night’s Melton meeting.
What could have been
One metre was the difference between a collect of $57,000 and $15,000 for an army of owners when Shepparton-trained pacer Little Miss Lily ran second at Melton on Saturday night.
Little Miss Lily ran a gallant second to the hot favourite Sahara Breeze in the $100,000 APG Gold Bullion final for three-year-old pacing fillies.
A daughter of champion Lennytheshark, Little Miss Lily was having her ninth start for Shepparton trainer Patrick Ryan.
Many of the owners are relations of the trainer including Kyabram cousins and brothers Peter, Brendan, Francis and Kevin and Denis, who were on track to cheer Little Miss Lily home and were almost successful.
Also just missing out on the major money at Melton was reinsman Mark Pitt who finished second on the Emma Stewart-trained Gawn to stablemate Staroftheshow in the $100,000 Gold Bullion final for threeyear-old colts and geldings.
In a similar scenario at Menangle on Saturday night, Rochester-trained trotter Shesawish also had to be content with the runner-up cheque in the NSW Trotters Oaks.
Trained by Neville Pangrazio and driven by Nathan Jack, Shesawish tracked the hot favourite, fellow Victorian Rock in with attitude, and went down fighting to be beaten by 1.5m.
The winner’s cheque was $40,875 while Shesawish pocketed $12,750 for her placing.
Jack was also in the placings in another of the features at Menangle, the $100,000 Trotters Mile, in which he partnered the Anton Golinotrained Im Ready Jet into third placing behind the Brent Lilley-trained champion mare Queen Elida.
A mare by Love You, Queen Elida put in a blistering 1:53 mile rate front-running performance to confirm her rating as arguably Australia’s fastest trotter with 22 wins from 39 starts.
Moth, Guard fly flag
Goulburn Valley trainers had a lean day at Sunday’s Pacing For Pink day fundraiser at Shepparton.
Byrneside horseman Damian Wilson and Shepparton’s Steve Boyington were the only GV trainers to produce winners on the 11-event card.
The Wilson-trained and driven three-year-old filly Music Moth opened her winning account at her fourth start when she saluted.
A daughter of A Rocknroll Dance, Music Moth sat on the back of the pacemaker Levada Gold and took the sprint lane run to prevail in a tight finish over Otis Rising and the Isabel Walsh-trained and Leigh Sutton-driven Island Feenix.
Punters came for Music Moth and she was sent out a $2.80 favourite from her ideal barrier two draw.
She returned a smart mile rate of 1:57.5 for the 1690m trip.
The Boyington-trained trotter Kings Guard gave a sample of his ability with a dashing win in his second outing from a spell.
After a second placing to the talented Lady Adelia first-up at Bendigo on April 28, Kings Guard put his rivals to the sword in a runaway win.
From a back row draw Boyington took Kings Guard to the death seat when the field had settled and then worked him to the front a lap out before careering away from his rivals in the home straight.
He had more than 13m to spare at the judge over the runner-up Countess Chiron with the David Abrahams-trained Menewa registering his fifth minor placing in six starts after returning to racing as a 10-year-old after a five-year break.
Kings Guard, who has now won three of his 10 starts with four second placings, is by top sire Love You out of the Majestic Son mare My Valerie, an extra smart trotter who clocked up 18 wins in 35 starts.
Tooth pulls out a win
Majestic Tooth, a winner of a maiden trot at Shepparton on Sunday, has a fair way to go to emulate the feats of her half-sister, Red Hot Tooth.
Local reinswoman Abbey Turnbull was in the sulky for the win on the Kari Males-trained threeyear-old filly.
Red Hot Tooth was a topline trotter who won 25 races and banked more than $500,000 in prizemoney with a 1:55.2 best mile rate.
Majestic Tooth got home in a tight finish to post her first win in eight starts.
Red Hot Tooth and Majestic Tooth are out of the Safely Kept mare Karaka Tooth who won four races.
Boy, he goes all right
Kyabram trainer Brent Thomson was raised on some smart trotters trained by his father Russell and he has now found one he trains himself who gives every indication he is well above the ordinary.
Sebastian Boy, a four-year-old gelding by Swedish superstar trotter Sebastian K, won his third race for Thomson when he saluted at last week’s Bendigo meeting.
He won a 1650m dash in 1:58.7 PB mile rate time in accounting for some smart trotters, most of them with a lot more experience than the 10 starts Sebastians Boy has had.
Cassie has cash flowing
Rochester trainer Neville Pangrazio didn’t waste any time getting back to winning ways after returning from Menangle at the weekend where his filly Shesawish ran second in the NSW Trotters Oaks.
Pangrazio lined up five-year-old pacing mare Cashflow Cassie for her first start for four months at Tuesday night’s Kilmore meeting where she destroyed her rivals.
Driven by Nathan Jack, Cashflow Cassie showed her rivals a clean pair of hooves in a dashing front-running display to record her fifth win and one of her most dominant.
Trial watchers had singled out Cashflow Cassie as the one to beat and she started a $1.80 favourite.
Chasing Derby victory
Nathan Jack will be trying to go one better at tomorrow night’s Menangle meeting when he partners the unbeaten Anton Golino-trained Got feelings you know in the $75,000 NSW Derby.
A winner of his only four starts the son of Majestic Son has a wide barrier to contend with and also the impressive winner of last Saturday night’s NSW Oaks, Rocking with attitude.
Got feelings you know will be attempting his fifth consecutive win and his 11th win from 16 starts
Jack will also partner former Wayne Potter-trained Alluring Tyrone in the Bulli Trotters Cup at the meeting.
Closer to home Avenel trainer David Aiken will launch a twopronged attack on tomorrow night’s feature at Melton, the Lennytheshark Free-For-All.
Aiken has stable star Max Delight and Letsrockletsroll contesting the $24,000 feature.
Coming up
Today: Maryborough (d), Mildura (n)
Tomorrow: Melton (n)
Sunday: Cranbourne (d)
Monday: Hamilton (d)
Tuesday: Swan Hill (n)
Wednesday: Shepparton (n)
Thursday: Maryborough (d), Kilmore (n)
