Bust a move: Damian Wilson drove the longest priced winner of his career last week when he saluted on Rymes.
Byrneside horseman Damian Wilson has driven 977 winners over three decades in the sulky but none were the price he landed one at at last week’s Shepparton meeting.
Wilson partnered the Gisbornetrained trotter Rymes to win — at odds of 150/1.
“I won a race on a 100/1 chance in a Junior Drivers Championship in Adelaide 28 years ago and I’m sure that was the longest priced winner I had driven previously,’’ Wilson said this week.
In regards to Rymes’ win Wilson said ‘‘the trainer gave him a chance and had 25 bucks on him, but I had driven him the week before when he got beaten by 40m. In saying that though it wasn’t a strong field at Shepparton and there looked to be a lot of chances’’.’
A Majestic Son six-year-old gelding have only his ninth trip to the races, Rymes settled a little further back than midfield, got a three wide tow into the race in the final lap and then ran down the Laura Crosslandtrained and driven Aristotle near the finishing line.
Rymes missed a year of racing as a four-year-old and had had only three starts for one third placing since resuming in September before stepping out at Shepparton.
He is out of the unraced Christian Cullen mare Genayes Girl who has left one other winner.
Jack has Classic time
Shepparton horseman Nathan Jack landed his second feature race winner within a month when young trotter Violet Stanford completed the heat-final wins in the Vicbred Platinum Home Grown Classic for two-year-old trotting fillies at Melton last Saturday night.
With Jack in the sulky the daughter of Voldstead, purchased at the Bathurst sales by Jack for only $3000, repeated her heat win on debut with another dashing front running display to beat the David Aiken-trained and driven Maoris Mac in the $50,000 feature in a quinella for the stallion.
Violet Stanford’s win followed on from the win of the Jack-trained Eye Believe in the $400,000 APG Bullion Fillies final at Menangle on April 29.
That was Jack’s first Group One winner as a trainer.
Duffys get Serg home
Goulburn Valley trainers and drivers were again to the fore at the Melton meeting for a third successive week.
Apart from Nathan Jack Shepparton trainer Steve Duffy and his reinsman son Ryan also enjoyed success at the meeting, combining to win with smart pacer Serg Blanco.
An early move by Ryan to take the Bettors Delight five-year-old to the front proved a winning move with Serg Blanco fending off all rivals in the home straight to record a tough win.
Serg Blanco has now won five of his 20 starts and has been runner-up five times in Australia since crossing the Tasman and joining the Duffy stable at Congupna.
Girls have night out
The female touch has been to the fore at recent Shepparton meetings and last week was no exception.
Four of the winners were partnered by female drivers with Tasmyn Potter, Codi Rauchenberger and Stacey Towers and flying the flag for the Goulburn Valley’s fairer sex at the meeting .
Kate Gath was the other winning female driver.
Potter savoured her second win, partnering the pacer her father trains Itzmineontheline to a dominant win.
A three-year-old gelding by Better Line, Itzmineontheline was given the run of the race by Potter on the back of the pacemaker Leavemeout and took the sprint lane alley home to score a comfortable win.
It was a well overdue maiden win as well as Itzmineontheline had racked up four successive seconds and seven successive top four finishes going into the race with Potter in the sulky for all of those starts.
Rock rolls over rivals
Codi Rauchenberger has been training pacer Rocknroll Tallara for only seven starts, but those starts have been highly productive with four wins and one minor placing.
The latest win came at last week’s Shepparton meeting.
Rauchenberger had the four-yearold Rocknroll Dance mare in the one-one sit before popping the question with 600m to run and Rocknroll Tallara responding by dashing clear of her rivals at the business end.
Rocknroll Tallara had won two races from 35 before joining the Rauchenberger stable at Moorilim, many of these starts in South Australia.
But she has thrived under Rauchenberger’s care and her 1:55.7 mile rate for the 1690m trip in her latest win was a PB and the quickest on the 11-event card in which six of the races were over the 1690m trip.
Lady is first again
A patient drive by Stacey Towers resulted in win number seven for Presidentslastlady at last week’s Shepparton meeting.
Towers was content to let the Mark Lee-trained mare sit near the tail of the field before making her move with 600m to go with the Auckland Reactor seven-year-old then holding off the strong finishing Donna Castles-trained and Doc Wilsondriven outsider Arraps.
Those who supported Presidentslastlady were more than happy with the $10 the mare paid for the win in her 74th start.
This one’s for Patto
Shepparton Harness Racing Club didn’t waste any time paying a tribute to the late Noel Pattison, naming a race after him at last week’s Shepparton meeting, the day of his funeral.
Pattison, who died suddenly on May 6 at the age of 78, was a keen trots breeder and owner who raced the top trotting mare Sky Petite in recent years.
He won fame as a footrunner and won the Bendigo Thousand, at that stage the richest footrace in Australia in 1965, as a 20-year-old.
He also won the Shepparton Gift in the town’s centenary year of 1967.
Sweet 16 for Zuberi
Warhorse pacer Zuberi clocked up his 16th win from 139 tries when he saluted at last week’s Shepparton meeting.
Trained by veteran Avenel horseman Colin Duncan, the 10-year-old made it back-to-back wins as he had also saluted at Yarra Valley at his previous start on May 5.
In his latest win the son of Art Major raced on the back of the pacemaker and odds-on favourite Ludacrous and ran that pacer down after switching around him in the home straight.
As well as his 16 wins Zuberi has also clocked up 38 minor placings and has banked more than $131,000 in prizemoney.
Something different
Usually when reinsman Mark Pitt makes the trip to Ballarat it is to drive pacers for top trainer Emma Stewart.
And more often than not they win. There was an exception last Friday night though when he had only the one drive for Stewart, Tiffs Little Sister, who went down by a whisker.
But Pitt made the most of his other two drives at the meeting — Chivalry and Amandine — for his trainer wife Lisa and Anton Golino respectively.
Chivalry a three-year-old Sweet Lou gelding made it two wins in four starts with a dominant all-theway win, while Amadine was too good for his rivals in hoisting his fifth win in 16 starts.
It was Amandine’s first outing this year, but she had already displayed her ability with success in the Need For Speed three-year-old trotting fillies final among her CV last season.
It’s the Ellen show
There was a strong Goulburn Valley connection to the winner of the $100,000 Regional Championship final at Wagga last Friday.
Ellen Bartley trained the winner Brooklyn Bridge who was driven by her partner Blake Jones.
They could be in for another big payday when they contest the regional championship final of the series at Menangle tomorrow night, another race worth $100,000.
A four-year-old gelding by Sweet Lou, Brooklyn Bridge has won seven of his 10 starts for Bartley who was raised at Merrigum with her sisters, Bec and Lisa, who have also made their mark in the industry.
Winning ways
Shepparton-trained Rock N Roll Heaven gelding Heavensway made an impressive return to the winners’ list at this week’s Yarra Valley meeting.
The Connor Crook-prepared and driven five-year-old came from third last at the bell and made light work of racing without cover for the rest of the race before going to the line untouched.
Heavensway, who was a $1.70 favourite, is owned by fellow trainer Mitchell Frost and has won two of his seven starts since Crook took over his training.
He has now had 22 starts which have produced four wins.
It’s been a good week for Crook and his partner Jordan Chibnall who drove the Kate Attard-trained and driven Frankntank to a tough win at Wednesday night’s Echuca meeting.
Frankntank, bred by prominent GV breeders, the late Ken Wills and his wife Jan, had also won at his previous start at Mildura with Chibnall in the sulky and has now won 13 races.
Turnbulls dine out
Not much joy for Goulburn Valley trainers at this week’s Shepparton meeting with just the one winner.
Tatura north Trainer Craig Turnbull and his reinswoman daughter Abbey flew the flag solo for the locals, scoring with Alfresco.
A four-year-old son of Western Terror, Alfresco came from second last at the 400m peg with his customary strong finishing burst to nail Shaq on the finishing line.
Bred by Dean and Blanche Poole, who still have ownership interests in the pacer, it was his fourth win with 11 minor placings from 20 starts.
Alex strolls home
Merrigum trainer Luke Bryant and reinswoman Grace Bilney completed successive wins on the Riverina Paceway at Wagga on Tuesday night with pacer Keayang Alex.
The six-year-old gelded son of Roll With Joe raced in the death seat for a lap before getting cover for the last lap and then running away from his rivals untouched to the finishing line.
Keaygang Alex’s mile rate of 1:58.9 was exactly the same as when he won on the same track the previous week.
But those punters who stuck with him had a better result this time with a nice win dividend of $8.50.
Bryant has now won seven races with the pacer.
Coming up
Today: Bendigo (n)
Tomorrow: Melton (n)
Sunday: Cranbourne (n)
Monday: Stawell (d)
Tuesday: Echuca (n)
Wednesday: Geelong (n)
Thursday: Kilmore (n)
