Luke Kilduff will be looking to claim his first win as a driver since 2016 when he steps out with Bundalong Bruiser in race three at Cranbourne tonight.
And he looks a good chance of first-up success, with Craig Rail identifying the five-year-old squaregaiter as one to follow after a recent trial performance at Shepparton last week.
“Considering the mile rate was 1.59.6 and he defeated horses with superior National Ratings, he will prove very hard to beat this evening,” Rail said.
Kilduff trained Bundalong Bruiser to his maiden victory in August last year, but has not driven in a race since March 2017.
Bundalong Bruiser was joined in Rail’s Blackbook by fellow new entries Timmy Rictor (Emma Stewart) and Rakero Warrior (Andy Gath).
Read Rail’s trial report from the week gone by and see his updated Blackbook at the bottom of the page.
SHEPPARTON 23/03/23
Trial 1: – LIFEINTHEBALANCE began quickly and was able to find the back of the leader in the early stages. He came to the outside at the quarter pole and produced a good finish to get the prize. He is backing up at Shepparton on Tuesday night. NATIONAL NEWS settled six back on the markers, came away from the inside at the 600m and was finishing off nicely for second. NOMORELYING was three back on the inside, waited for the sprint lane and finished off well for third. The eye-catching performance of the trial came from SHES A HOVERCRAFT. She produced a powerful finishing burst out wide on the track from last and the final half was run in a slick 57.3 seconds so her final sectionals were extremely good.
Mile Rate: – 1.57.5 Last Half: – 57.3 Margins: – 2m, 2m
Trial 2: – BUNDALONG BRUISER prepared for his first up performance at Cranbourne tonight with a big victory. He trailed the leader early, ended up being three back on the markers and moved up without cover with 500m remaining. He chased down STAR DOWN UNDER, which made an early move to find the lead at the 1600m, and finished off strongly to get the prize. Considering the mile rate was 1.59.6 and he defeated horses with superior National Ratings, he will prove very hard to beat this evening.
Mile Rate: – 1.59.6 Last Half: – 59.1 Margins: – 2m, 14m
BLACKBOOKER: – Bundalong Bruiser
Trial 4: – INSIDE LEG began quickly to find the lead, backed off the tempo mid-race and had a good kick left at the finish. It was a handy performance and he is backing up at Wagga this afternoon. He was able to defeat SWEET MIRACLE, which is returning from a spell at Cranbourne this evening. She settled three back on the inside, came out three horses wide at the home turn and ran home well at the finish. She is meeting a strong field this evening but appears to be somewhere near her peak. HEAT SEEKER put in a tidy display to finish third and appears to have some ability. He settled five back on the inside, moved into the running lane at the 600m and finished off strongly without being fully extended.
Mile Rate: – 2.2.2 Last Half: – 57.6 Margins: – 4m, 2m
BACCHUS MARSH 25/02/23
Trial 1: – FLASH FOR CASH has been performing nicely at the trials leading up to his debut and was able to take out the opening trial comfortably. He defeated ANOTHER NIP, which galloped away when resuming, with PERFECT PEAK being the third horse to cross the line.
Mile Rate: – 2.5.9 Last Half: – 61.6 Margins: – 6m, 2.5m
Trial 2: – Trainer David Murphy was able to prepare the first two winners on the card with MAJOR DRAMA taking out the second trial by a large margin. She is racing at Melton tomorrow night but is taking on a quality field. She was able to defeat FINANCIAL BURDEN, which makes his debut for trainer Matthew Purcell in the Premiere Stakes at Melton tomorrow night. IT’S A FUGAZI was a further four metres away in third spot.
Mile Rate: – 2.4.8 Last Half: – 60.1 Margins: – 15m, 4m
Trial 3: – PACIFIC DRUMS is a former Queensland pacer, which has recently joined trainer Carson Millar. He is on a tough mark considering he has a National Rating of 103 but he was able to take out the fast class trial over THE WHOLE PACKAGE, which is resuming at Cranbourne tonight, with OUR UNCLE JIM being the last horse across the line.
Mile Rate: – 2.1.4 Last Half: – 57.8 Margins: – 2m, 12m
ECHUCA 26/02/23
Trial 1: – CHEDDAR ME THIS wrapped up her preparation for the Premiere Stakes with an all of the way victory in the opening trial. She went to the line untouched and it was an easy win but her mile rate was only 2.14.2 and she will have to run at least sixteen seconds or nearly 200m quicker to be competitive tomorrow night. ORPHAN ANDY finished second after trailing the leader and ROCKINDAISY (3 back pegs, death at 500m) was third past the post.
Mile Rate: – 2.14.2 Last Half: – 63.0 Margins: – 2m, 2m
Trial 3: – NO NEIGH PHILTRA settled down last of the five runners, moved up without cover at the 900m, found the lead at the bell and kicked well clear at the 400m. MARAKO SHARK worked hard for the first 300m to find the lead, took cover at the bell and finished second with the trotter BACARDI WOOD (4 back pegs, death at bell) being third past the post.
Mile Rate: – 2.7.0 Last Half: – 59.0 Margins: – 10m, 8m
TABCORP PARK, MELTON 27/02/23
Trial 2: – CHART TOPPER appears to be a very talented juvenile and should be winning races in the near future. He had the advantage of race experience over his rivals but he led throughout and completely dominated in fast time so it was an impressive trial performance. DESTINY STRIDE also produced another good performance in finishing second. She settled four back on the inside, moved into the death seat at the 300m and found the line nicely. RENEWAL finished in third position after trailing the leader throughout.
Mile Rate: – 1.58.9 Last Half: – 56.49 Margins: – 13m, 2.5m
Trial 3: – TIMMY RICTOR is a juvenile son of Modern Art for trainer Emma Stewart. Chart Topper was very impressive in trial two but putting TIMMY RICTOR’s trial win in perspective, he beat older horses and ran 2.2 seconds quicker! He obviously has a very promising future on that display. He settled four back on the inside, came out three horses wide on the home turn and produced a big finish. SUPER CODE finished second after trailing the leader and JILLIBY MENDOZA came from five back on the inside to finish in third.
Mile Rate: – 1.56.8 Last Half: – 57.84 Margins: – 5m, 3m
BLACKBOOKER: – Timmy Rictor
Trial 4: – LOVE GUN prepared for his effort at Cranbourne tonight with an easy success. He settled six back on the inside, gave the leaders a healthy start and sustained a strong run to win well. ALDEBARANSPARTACUS used the trial on Monday as a stepping stone to his debut performance at Ballarat on Thursday night. He trailed the leader, came to the outside at the 700m and hit the lead before being run down in the final 100m. He unfortunately galloped away and lost all chance at his debut on Thursday but he does have ability.
Mile Rate: – 2.1.3 Last Half: – 58.81 Margins: – 1.5m, 17m
Trial 6: – RAKERO WARRIOR NZ is a former New Zealand trotter, which recently joined trainer Andy Gath. He led throughout and ran away to win by 31m with seemingly plenty in reserve so he is worth following. MAJESTIC TOOTH finished second after being four back on the inside and moving into the death seat at the 600m. KHANS CREED was three back on the pegs throughout and was the third horse to greet the judge.
Mile Rate: – 2.7.8 Last Half: – 60.39 Margins: – 31m, 1.5m
BLACKBOOKER: – Rakero Warrior NZ
Trial 7: – CODE BAILEY NZ began brilliantly to find the lead, rolled along at a genuine tempo and was untroubled in scoring. MAJOR DELIGHT went through her juvenile season being undefeated from nine starts. She was taking on the mature open class horses at her first trial back and was far from disgraced, finishing second after trailing the leader throughout. DISTRICT ATTORNEY produced a slashing trial performance to finish third after he settled five back on the markers and hit the line strongly.
Mile Rate: – 1.54.1 Last Half: – 55.24 Margins: – 7m, 6m
Trial 8: – TEMPTING TIGRESS NZ settled three back on the inside, angled wide on the home turn and stormed home to win in fast time. AZOR AHAI NZ is a former New Zealand pacer that boasts consistent form and joins trainer Andy Gath. He trailed the leader, used the sprint lane and missed out narrowly. TRINITYS DELIGHT prepared for her first up effort at Cranbourne this evening with a handy third after setting a solid speed.
Mile Rate: – 1.56.2 Last Half: – 57.99 Margins: – 1.5m, ½ neck
Trial 10: – KEAYANG CEDRIC has been impressive in several recent trial performances and came from last (1-3) to win the final trial on the card. He has drawn on the pole position for his debut at Stawell on Monday and should prove very hard to beat. WHERESTHESTORM raced without cover early, took a trail at the 1200m and used the sprint lane to finish second. JILLIBY FLASH began quickly to lead, ran along at a reasonable tempo and battled on well for third. He went well enough to be considered as a winning chance at Boort on Sunday.
Mile Rate: – 1.57.5 Last Half: – 58.74 Margins: – 1.5m, 1.5m
BENDIGO 27/02/23
Trial 3: – FIREFLY is a former New South Wales trained pacer, which joins Julie Douglas. He raced without cover early, progressed forward to find the lead at the 1100m and kicked well clear at the 600m so he put in a fine display. ROCKSTAR LEO settled five back on the inside, moved into the death seat at the 600m and battled on reasonably well for a distant second. MALAVA MISS trailed forward behind ROCKSTAR LEO for the entire trip and finished in third spot.
Mile Rate: – 2.2.2 Last Half: – 57.7 Margins: – 12m,2m
Trial 6: – FOUR STAR SAINT began quickly to lead, pulled hard and eventually took cover before starting a winning run at the 500m. It was a good performance and he has a low National Rating of 49 so he might be able to pick up a race in the near future. SALSBOY settled three back on the inside and finished well late for second with ANGEL OF HEAVEN being third across the line after working to the front at the 1800m.
Mile Rate: – 2.3.1 Last Half: – 59.4 Margins: – 4m, 14m
KILMORE 28/02/23
Trial 1: – MACHAVELLI trailed the leader early and worked around to find the lead at the 1600m. He finished off in a last half of 58.2 seconds and held off his rivals to get the prize. He is engaged to race at both Cranbourne tonight and at Shepparton on Tuesday. CHEVRON FLIES NZ finished second after settling four back on the inside and moving into the one out and one back trail at the 600m. The outstanding trotting mare QUEEN ELIDA NZ settled down a clear last early, was still at the tail of the field on the home turn and finished off nicely out wide on the track to fill third position.
Mile Rate: – 2.3.5 Last Half: – 58.2 Margins: – 2m, 4.5m
Trial 3: – THESTATESMAN is a juvenile pacer for trainer Alison Alford, which put in a professional display after settling down six back on the markers and moving up without cover at the 1200m. He was forced out a little wider on the home turn but continued to chase down the leaders and got up to score. DOT BALL finished in second position after trailing the leader and coming to the outside on the home turn. NORTHERN TERROR settled three back on the markers and finished fairly well for a distant third.
Mile Rate: – 2.5.5 Last Half: – 60.2 Margins: – Head, 10m
