Photo: Stuart McCormick
Roaring home: Roarforroscoe and Juanita Breen steam down the outside to win at Melton on Saturday.
Avenel-trained pacer Roarfor roscoe claimed his most significant career win when saluting in the $30,000 Future of Form Metropolitan Pace Final at Melton on Saturday night.
The Juanita Breen-trained and driven Betterthancheddar fouryear-old gelding put up arguably a career best run to topple the favourite Beach Melody.
Roarforroscoe sustained a searching three-deep run for the last 900m, joining the pacesetter and favourite Beach Melody in the home straight and prevailing in a stirring finish in which only 6m separated the first eight runners home.
Breen had plenty of reasons to enjoy the win and believes the pacer could provide her with her first Group One success as a trainer.
Not only did she breed the pacer with her husband Aaron Brown, but also shares ownership with Harness Racing Challenge’s Steve Salter and a couple of his mates who claimed 10 per cent in a fund raising competition auction for the charity Steve runs.
In fact Roarforroscoe is named in memory of Steve’s cousin Ross who lost his life to cancer.
Roarforroscoe posted a PB 1:55.2 for the 2240m trip to claim his eighth win from 21 starts with eight minor placings.
Breen said the Breeders Crown and Vicbred series later in the season were on Roarforroscoe’s radar and she would also like to see the emerging star considered for the rich Eureka Series in September.
Rochester-trained trotter Willdomxav proved too classy for his rivals at last week’s Echuca meeting, notching his seventh win in 58 tries.
Trainer-driver Neville Pangrazio settled the son of Tennotrump fourth in the small field and left his rivals standing at the business end of the race after surging to the front straightening for the run to the judge.
The David Abrahams-trained Hateitwhenyourrite finished second, over 10m from the winner with The Girls Gotflair filling the minor placing.
It has been a fruitful couple of weeks for Pangrazio who bred and also owns Ivana Bytheseaside who made it two wins from two starts for trainer Lisa Pitt when she won at Tuesday night’s Shepparton meeting.
Echuca trainer Matt Beecroft has had to be patient with his pacing mare Four Starzzz Ruby, but it paid dividends when she saluted at last week’s Echuca meeting.
Four Starzz Ruby’s last win was in September of 2021 when she won at Mildura when being prepared by local trainer Luke Watson.
Beecroft has given the mare the last 11 of her 35 starts and in that time she had recorded three minor placings leading into her all-the-way win last week when Leigh Sutton did the driving honours and made most of her barrier one draw.
Shepparton trainer Connor Crook completed successive wins with pacer Heavensway at Echuca.
Driven by Jordan Chibnall the five-year-old Rock N Roll Heaven gelding led throughout over the 1755m trip to beat Our Bella Lucia and Fightnfury in smart 1:57.3 mile rate time to hoist his seventh win from 27 starts.
Heavensway had won at his previous start at Mildura on June 16 by a whopping 27.5m and, while the Echuca win wasn’t as decisive, it was popular with punters who had supported him to a $2.25 favourite and in many cases the anchor in their quaddies.
Shepparton trainer Steve Duffy was in the good books again with family when the pacer he trains Justcallmeaza saluted at Echuca.
The win came only a few days after Duffy had produced the family-owned trotter Crookwell Eyes to win at Shepparton.
A six-year-old Bitobliss gelding driven by Codi Rauchenberger, Justcallmeaza led, was then headed before taking up the front running position again.
This proved a winning move as he defied all efforts to be run down in the run to the judge.
Duffy has done a great job getting Justcallemeaza back to the track after two years.
The pacer has had nine starts since returning in which he has had three wins and four top three placings.
Another well-deserved win at Echuca was recorded by the Shepparton-trained pacer Island Feenix.
The Isabel Walsh-prepared Art Major filly had chalked up seven top four finishes including a second and three thirds from eight previous starts in trying to notch her maiden win.
Driven by Leigh Sutton, Island Feenix singled out with the Mark Thompson-trained Chalk Is Cheap in a two-horse war to the finishing line and prevailed by 1.9m.
There was nearly 22m to the third horse home, Fiesta Stride.
Island Feenix is out of the Live Or Die mare Special Needs, a six times winner, who has left four other winners including Islandspecial Major a winner of 30 races and Island Rocknroll who won 18 races.
Island Feenix buttered up from the Echuca win with a second placing at big odds at Shepparton on Tuesday night.
Shepparton joint trainers Steve O’Donoghue and Bec Bartley produced a longshot winner last Friday night at Bendigo.
They train the 25/1 chance Itz Miss Montana who prevailed in a blanket finish to account for the Elmore-trained Diamond Shooz and the odds-on favourite and pacemaker Blake Bolac over the 1650m trip in 1:54.4 mile rate time for the 1650m trip.
Reinswoman Ellen Tormey produced a winning drive by extricating Itz Miss Montana from four back on the pegs on the home bend to get the five-year-old Sweet Lou mare into clear running four deep in the home straight and then mow down her rivals.
Itz Miss Montana was having only her third start in this campaign after a year on the sidelines and put the writing on the wall for a coming win in her two runs back with a close-up fifth at Maryborough and then a second at Bendigo to Our Vincent Can Gogh.
Itz Miss Montana has had 19 starts which have now produced five wins and five placings with three of her wins in New Zealand before joining Leeton horseman Col Thomas prior to the O’Donoghue-Bartley team taking the training reins.
Itz Miss Montana was the first leg of a driving double at the meeting for EllenTormey who also scored on the Rochester-trained Hello I Tea who was making his debut for trainer Mark Thompson.
Thompson is familiar with the pacer’s sire Guaranteed, a high class pacer he owned and bred.
But prior to joining the Thompson stable Hello I Tea had had 46 tries at trying to win a race, but frustratingly could manage only nine minor placings.
But Thompson changed the fouryear-old’s luck around in one start with a runaway front-of-the-field win over the 2150m trip.
Wahring horseman Danny Thackeray also savoured a win at Bendigo which was popular with punters.
He produced lightly-raced Scheming for his second win in seven starts.
A three-year-old filly by Huntsville, Scheming was given the run of the race by reinsman James Herbertson and rounded up the pacemaker in the home straight for a runaway win.
Scheming, who was a $1.65 favourite, was having only his seventh trip to the races and posted a PB 1:56.6 for the 1650m trip.
Six-year-old Betterthancheddar gelding Better Day broke a run of 16 starts and 18 months out of the winner’s circle when he saluted at Bendigo.
Reinsman Mark Pitt was able to secure inside runs on the Wayne Potter-trained Better Day, who nabbed the pacemaker and favourite Denny Rocks and Michin Roy right on the finishing post in a three-way photo.
Better Day’s last win was at Cobram in December 2021 and his latest win has taken his record to seven wins and eight minor placing from 39 starts.
The win completed a good week for Potter who had produced Spyglass for an impressive win on debut at Yarra Valley two days previously.
A three-year-old gelding by Sweet Lou and driven by Nathan Jack, Spyglass gave punters who supported him into a $1.30 favourite no anxious moments and led from start to finish over the 1650m trip.
Bendigo trainer Julie Douglas did ‘‘a Ben Yole’’ at last Sunday’s Kilmore meeting.
She produced every starter, six in total, in the final race for claimers.
The hot favourite Rick Reilly, who had won on the Friday at Mildura, buttered up again and scored a runaway win.
Another big week in the sulky for Stanhope reinsman Mark Pitt, highlighted by a treble at this week’s Shepparton meeting.
At Shepparton Pitt reined home three-year-old filly Ivana Bytheseaside for his trainer-wife Lisa, Major Celebrity for Emma Stewart and Leave Your Hat On for John Yeomans to follow up a double, Major Grace and Fiamma, for Stewart at last Saturday night’s Melton meeting.
Ivana Bytheseaside completed successive wins, also having won at her previous start at Shepparton on June 6 when having her first start for Lisa Pitt and her fifth start.
Lisa Pitt and Echuca trainer Faye McEwan were the only Goulburn Valley trainers to savour success at the Shepparton meeting.
McEwan produced consistent trotter Watch And Act for his ninth win, beating the Susan Hunter trained Partytime by a head in a quinella for Echuca trainers.
Shepparton-trained filly Little Miss Lily lost no admirers when she made her Queensland debut in last Saturday night’s Redcliffe Oaks.
Driven by Anthony Butt and settling at the tail of the field, Little Miss Lily finished strongly to get into seventh spot, 15m from the winner.
But she was credited the quickest final mile of any of the runners.
She will continue her Queensland campaign with the Queensland Oaks a major target at tonight’s Albion Park meeting where she has drawn ideally in barrier three over the short 1660m trip.
Today: Maryborough (d), Mildura (n)
Tomorrow: Melton (n)
Sunday: Warragul (d)
Monday: Charlton (d)
Tuesday: Geelong (n)
Wednesday: Shepparton (n)
Thursday: Kilmore (n)
