Class came to the fore on the biggest stage as young trotters Rockinwithattitude, The Locomotive, Revelstoke and Cravache Dor reaffirmed their talent in a New Year’s Eve to remember.
The Aldebaran Park Vicbred Super Series trotting finals were full of thrills, with four-year-olds Locksley Lover and Visionary also triumphant, as a big Melton crowd savored huge moments from the very first race.
Much-heralded trotter Rockinwithattitude kicked off the celebrations when he gave his connections the Group 1 moment they’d long desired.
“Everyone would agree she deserves it,” said trainer/driver David Miles after Rockinwithattitude held on to win by a metre, leaving behind the misfortunes that had plagued her season.
“It’s what we train horses for. It’s the pinnacle, this is why we’re here on these nights. Doesn’t matter whether they are $1.20 or 100-1, all the owners are hoping for that dream of having a Group 1 winner. It’s great for these owners, they’ve had a tough year.”
Rockinwithattitude is the first foal out of Rockin Shiraz, a mare owned by a big Raceapacer syndicate, who elected to pair her with Aldebaran Eagle to produce tonight’s Group 1 winner.
When the gates opened Miles comfortably guided her to the top, sitting tight until opening her up for the last half to ensure any challengers would need a Herculean effort to win.
The 28.8 and 28.6-second final quarters secured the trophy ahead of a game Valerie Lane, who ran second for Peter Manning and Kerryn Manning.
“The barrier draw was great and it played out like it looked on paper,” Miles said.
“She’s an amazing filly, that first quarter in 29.5 definitely didn’t feel like that. To run 57 for the long for a baby trotter is probably unheard of five or six years ago.
“All the way up the straight she was looking at the tents and the flags and the big screens, there was plenty more there, because when Kerryn got up to her after the line she wanted to race again.”
It was a somewhat different scenario in the two-year-old boys’ trotting class, with The Locomotive having already notched three Group 1s this season, but it seemed a fourth may go up in smoke when he miss-stepped on the final lap.
However, Wayne Potter’s trotter showed great maturity to quickly settle in Nathan Jack’s hands and he was able to recover and round the field, mowing down the tiring leaders to score.
Jack told TrotsVision he had his heart in his mouth on the back straight before the brilliantly bred Yabby Dam Farms colt, who’s by Muscle Mass out of La Coocaracha, showed his class.
“Everything was going great and then he got a little bit of a check there at the 900 and things went pear-shaped pretty quick after that,” Jack said.
“To his credit he got back down and showed what a great little juvenile he really is, to gather his gate so quick.
“I was still reasonably confident because the leader (Ess Kay Hollywood) had done a little bit of work and the death-seater (Hide And Seek) had done a bit of work, and Josh’s horse (Watts Up Partytime) had done a lot of work as well three-wide even though it had cover. I always thought I (had) the fastest horse in the race.”
And so he would prove, with The Locomotive scoring by one-metre from Watts Up Partytime, who was among the raft of good runs by the beaten brigade that also included Steve Gee (third) and Moonwalka (fourth).
The good times continued for Yabby Dam Farms in the following race, although again there was a worrying break of gait before the Group 1 delight was secured.
On this occasion race favourite Courmayeur galloped out of the gates and out of contention, but trainer Anton Golino’s outstanding depth of stock shone through with stablemate Revelstoke coming with a big three-wide win to score handsomely.
“I don’t think there’s one in our stable that deserved to win a Group race like this more than her,” Golino told TrotsVision.
“She’s always had ability, she’d string a few together and then she’d jump it off, then string a few together and then jump it off. Just seemed to find a way to get beat a couple of times.
“In the other breath she’s been very unlucky – she’s drawn bad barriers a bunch of times in big races, couple of times she’s run second or third.”
That fortune changed tonight in Daryl Douglas’s hands, with Revelstoke scoring by 16.7 metres from second-placed Lindys Love and a further gap to Used To Be A Maid in third.
Pat Driscoll and Anton Golino’s Yabby Dam Farms team would add another in the Aldebaran Eagle final for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings, and this one was an absolute clinic.
As it had looked on paper, Cravache Dor was in a class of his own, gliding to the front and then leaving them standing in the run to the line, winning by 10 metres for an unusually “nervous” but extremely proud Nathan Jack.
“He’s beautiful,” Jack told TrotsVision. “I would hate to see what he could run if you really really had to ask him. I think he ran 1:55.5, 1:56.6 over the long, it’s scary what they have to run these days but it’s just scary how easy he does it.”
The three-year-old, who’s now won 10 of his 13 starts this year, was untroubled and showed his class with a 27.6-second last quarter, further convincing Jack he’s the best of the Yabby Dam Farms talent.
“(He’s) the top. In my opinion he’s probably better than the good mares, maybe Anton mightn’t agree with that. I think he’s got the world at his feet this one,” Jack said.
Emotions were also high when Rebecca Bartley produced a breakthrough win in her 59th Group 1 start, steering Locksley Lover to victory in the Skyvalley four-year-old trotting entires and geldings final.
Bartley teamed with long-time supporter trainer John Nissen to take the popular win with their Love You gelding, who held his ground from gate one to take Dont Care’s back and then lay in wait as the leader duelled with favourite Aldebaran Zeus.
When the sprint lane opened it was a zip to the line and Locksley Lover’s fresher legs told, scoring by 2.4 metres from Dont Care with Aldebaran Zeus holding on for third.
“It probably wasn’t the (horse) I thought I’d get my first Group 1 on, but just the same this is good,” Bartley told TrotsVision.
“I was a little bit nervous, he wasn’t trotting 100 per cent at all. I was holding it together the whole way, just held by breath, he was put under pressure a couple of times and I had to keep clicking him up. To his credit he got the job done.
“I have always had a soft spot for him. He’s a funny little horse, he has lots of quirk, keeps you on your toes and I am really looking forward to his future.”
Bartley also paid tribute to Nissen, who captured the Group 1 with “the first trotter he’s ever trained”.
“It would mean the world to him,” she said. “I’ve driven for him ever since I had my junior claim, so that was a few years ago now. We’re great friends, him and Caroline are pretty much like family now.”
Fittingly, the night ended with another Yabby Dam Farms success, giving the breeder four of the six Group 1 trotting finals.
In the Skyvalley final for four-year-old trotting mares Larajay Farm’s Jess Tubbs (trainer) and Greg Sugars (driver) scored with Visionary, who entered a short-priced favourite but had to sit and wait until opportunity knocked.
The four-year-old mare, who’s registered five wins and two seconds since joining Tubbs, was crossed by Keayang Xena initially but Sugars was happy to sit tight in leader’s back when it became clear Glen Craven would hold the lead.
Moderate quarters would mean the final crown of 2022 would be won with a sprint to the line, and that played into Visionary’s hands as she swept clear to score by 3.5 metres from Keayang Xena, with breeze horse Sheza Pleasure filling out the top three.
VICBRED SUPER SERIES CHAMPIONS
Class: Aldebaran Park Dancinginthedark 2YO trotting fillies
Horse: Rockinwithattitude
Trainer: David Miles
Driver: David Miles
Breeding: By Aldebaran Eagle out of Rockin Shiraz
Owners: M E Arnott, J D Stewart, K Holzberger, J Ryan, A M Webb, A Wyllie, A Kingston, C Holloway, M D Drady
Breeders: M E Arnott, K Holzberger, J Ryan, J D Stewart, A M Webb, A Kingston, C Holloway, M D Drady, T Russell, A Wyllie
Class: Aldebaran Park Dancinginthedark 2YO trotting colts and geldings
Horse: The Locomotive
Trainer: Wayne Potter
Driver: Nathan Jack
Breeding: By Muscle Mass out of La Coocaracha
Owners: G B Holland, W R Potter
Breeder: Yabby Dam Farms
Class: Aldebaran Park Aldebaran Eagle 3YO trotting fillies
Horse: Revelstoke
Trainer: Anton Golino
Driver: Daryl Douglas
Breeding: By Quaker Jet out of Miss Manitoba
Owner: Yabby Dam Farms
Breeder: Yabby Dam Farms
Class: Aldebaran Park Skyvalley 4YO trotting entires and geldings
Horse: Locksley Lover
Trainer: John Nissen
Driver: Rebecca Bartley
Breeding: By Love You out of Elusive Charm
Owner: John Nissen
Breeder: David Scott
Class: Aldebaran Park Aldebaran Eagle 3YO trotting colts and geldings
Horse: Visionary
Trainer: Jess Tubbs
Driver: Greg Sugars
Breeding: By Orlando Vici out of Commander Jewel
Owners: Iona Trotter Syndicate
Breeders: Yabby Dam Farms
