Back in the winners’ stall: Congupna trainer Eddie Tappe steered Abbie to victory last week.
The switch of the Cobram meeting to Shepparton on Wednesday proved a bonanza for Goulburn Valley trainers.
Five of the seven races were won by local talents.
Laura Crossland set the mood early with an all-the-way win on twoyear-old pacer Danger Play.
The daughter of boom sire Captaintreachorous led throughout from barrier one to notch her second career win from six starts.
Danger Play is out of the Live Or Die mare Stay And Play, who won nine of her 27 career starts and ran minor placings in another nine.
Spoonthemoon, the only other foal from Stay And Play, won five of her 11 career starts.
Giving Terror to rivals
Five-year-old gelding Terror Of Locksley gave his rivals a start and beating at the Shepparton meeting.
The John Nissen-trained and Bec Bartley-driven five-year-old son of Wester Terror settled at the tail of the field over the short trip, but secured a three-wide tow into the 1690m event over the last 800, and prevailed over Jilliby Flash and the Echuca-trained Lethal Lover.
Terror Of Locksley produced a 1.56.9 mile rate, the best of his four career wins from 26 starts. There have also been six minor placings.
He is out of the Caprock mare Loves To Rock, a winner of 14 races.
Abbie has a good run
Congupna-trained trotter Abbie returned to the winners’ list in style at the Shepparton meeting.
Trainer, driver and owner Eddie Tapp gave the five-year-old Majestic Son mare the run of the race in the one-one sit and when he said ‘go’ in the home straight, Abbie left her rivals standing.
She had nearly 11m to spare over the runner-up, the well-fancied Tasmyn Potter-trained and driven Miss Francene, with the David Aiken-trained and driven Twixten filling the minor placings.
It was Abbie’s eighth career win from 27 starts with 10 minor placings.
It was her first for 10 starts — her last win was at Gunbower in February — and her third success on the Shepparton track.
Angel rises
After finishing third on Twixten in the previous event, David Aiken went two better in the following event, saluting with Lennys Angel.
Lennys Angel had only his second start since breaking his maiden status on the Shepparton track in early July.
Driven a treat in the one-outone-back position, Aiken gave the three-year-old son of the great Lennytheshark his head at the 600-metre peg and he quickly disposed of the favourite Out Of Eden and comfortably held the second favourite, the West Wyalong visitor, Hot Delight, who was driven by Mark Pitt, in the run to the judge.
Out of the Mach Three mare Earth Angel, Lennys Angel has been relatively consistent in his 14 lifetime starts and looks capable of improving his resume.
Nothing Ambiguous about that win
The Wayne Potter-Nathan Jack combination would have a pretty healthy strike rate and combined for yet another win at Shepparton.
The Potter-trained Ambiguous was given the run of the race by Jack on the back of the leader, the iron mare Roslyn Gaye, and proved a little strong for that pacer in the run to the judge.
It was the second win on the track for Ambiguous, a three-year-old son of Sportswriter who has now saluted four times in 19 career starts, which have also produced four minor placings.
Ambitious upset
Not much joy for northern Victoria at the Kilmore Cup meeting last Friday night.
Nagambie horseman Cameron Maggs was the only horseman to make it to the winner’s circle.
Maggs partnered the Peter Romeo-trained trotter Naked Ambition, who produced a powerful finishing burst, to an upset win.
Maggs found the lead early on the Andover Hall six-year-old mare before the favourite Dichotomy took up the front-running position. But just when Dichotomy looked in control in the home straight, Maggs eased Naked Ambition to the outside and quickly put paid to the favourite.
Romeo, who trains at Chiltern, has had Naked Ambition in his stable for the last nine of her 61 starts and this was her first win for him.
Naked Ambition had previously won eight races with 11 placings prior to finding her way to the Romero stable.
Never Better
The Kilmore Pacing Cup was won by the Jess Tubbs-trained and Greg Sugars-driven second favourite Better Eclipse, while the Chris LangSonia Mahar training team grabbed the quinella in the trotters cup with Ollivici and Bullion Harry.
Do the Locomotion
Avenel-trained trotter The Locomotive continued on his winning ways when he claimed a heat of the Breed For Speed Prince series for three-year-old colts and geldings at Melton last week.
The son of Muscle Mass and the great trotting mare La Coocaracha and driven by Nathan Jack zoomed straight to the front from an outside front row barrier draw and scored an effortless win in PB 1.58.4 mile rate time, which included a 27.6 last-quarter for the 1720m trip.
It completed a hat-trick of wins for the young trotter who has now won 12 of his 18 career starts with three second placings.
GV-trained trotters finished runners-up in their heats.
The Mark Lee-trained and Stacey Towers-driven Focus finished second to the Brent Lilly-trained Our Marvella and the David Abrahams-prepared Rapid Return chased home the brilliant Rocking with attitude in their respective three-year-old fillies heats.
Gracing the winner’s circle again
Ardmona horsewoman Donna Castles has been on a hot run of late and produced another winner at last week’s Shepparton meeting.
After completing a four-race winning sequence with tiny trotter Dances at the previous meeting, Castles went one better at Shepparton with another of her trotters, Lindy Grace.
Lindy Grace had chased home Dances at her previous start and was well-fancied.
Castles sent Lindy Grace, also by Bicardi Lindy, straight to the front over the 2190m trip and she comfortably held all challengers at bay.
The David Aiken-trained and driven favourite Pesco Polo was second and the Damian Wilson-trained and driven roughie Aristotle was third in a district trifecta.
It was Lindy Grace’s fourth career win from 47 tries and she has also filled a minor placing on another 10 occasions, including seven seconds.
Roaming to success
Courage Under Fire mare Roam broke her maiden status in style at the Shepparton meeting.
The Wayne Hayes-trained and driven six-year-old Courage Under Fire mare blitzed her rivals in a front-running role, despite getting little peace in the run.
A few rivals tried to soften her up. Still, she snubbed them all and pulled away in the home straight to beat the runner-up, the Gary Pekintrained and driven Ohhemmjay Cresco, by over 17m with the Paul Tonkin-trained and Cameron Maggs-driven Little Art Miss filling the minor placing.
Roam was overdue for the win with 10 minor placings, including six seconds from 20 career starts going into the race.
She clocked some time in her win with a 1.56.8 mile rate for the 1690m trip.
Ringing it in
Another district-trained pacer to break his maiden status at the Shepparton meeting was the Craig Turnbull-prepared Ringorello.
The Well Said three-year-old driven by Abbey Turnbull caught most punters off guard with his win as he paid a handsome $13.
A brilliant getaway in which he zoomed to the lead from the extreme outside draw paved the way for the win, which came after five top-four finishes in his previous six starts.
Ringorello is out of the Bettors Delight mare Rubeelee who won eight of her 30 starts.
Hunting victory again
Memories of a top-class pacer were revived when the David Moran-trained and driven On The
Hunt notched her second career win when she scored at the Shepparton meeting.
The three-year-old daughter of Huntsville got no favours in the run, forced to race three deep for most of the last lap, but was still good enough to upstage her rivals.
The Greg Norman-trained Apieceoflou made On The Hunt earn her win while the Darryn Rowney-trained roughie Feel The Knight, who raced on the pace, filled the minor placing.
On The Hunt was having just her fifth race start and was a winner at her second start, also on the Shepparton track, on August 15.
She is out of the winning Exotic Earl mare Petite Alto, who has left four other winners, including the Scott Stewart-trained top-class pacer Bitobliss.
Bitobliss beat some of Australia’s best pacers in his 57-start racing career which produced 24 wins and $473,773 in prizemoney earnings.
Already one of the Starzzz
Former Goulburn Valley-owned pacer Holi Starzzz has made an impressive start to racing in Queensland.
Bred by Merrigum’s Greg and Jenny Pell, Holi Starzzz has had two starts for two wins over the past two Saturday nights at Albion Park for new trainer Chantal Turpin.
In her latest win last Saturday night, Holi Starzzz produced a PB mile rate of 1.53.0 for the 1660m trip.
A five-year-old by Four Starzzz Shark, Holi Starzzz was trained by David Miles before heading north and had won eight races and 16 placings, including 11 seconds, from 55 starts.
Melton moments
Plenty of district interest at Melton meetings tonight and tomorrow night.
Tonight, trainers David Abrahams and Mark Lee have Rapid Return and Focus respectively, chasing the $50,000 Aldebaran Need For Speed Princess final as well as the Kyabram-owned Shes Ruby Roo.
Wayne Potter lines up the favourite The Locomotive in the $50,000 Need For Speed Prince final and has a second stringer in the race in Avenel Eagle.
Heats of the Victoria Derby and Victoria Oaks highlight tomorrow night’s meeting at Melton.
David Moran has Viking in the first heat of the Derby and Captain Hammerhead in the second heat.
Patrick Ryan lines up Little Miss Lily and Lisa Pitt (Chynchilla) and Laura Crossland (Chirripo) in the same heat of the Oaks.
David Aiken holds the hopes in another of the features, the $50,000 Smoken Up Sprint, with his veteran Max Delight.
