Harness Racing Victoria form guru Craig Rail noticed some standout runners at recent trials.
At Bendigo, Nugget Rogers finished off in a slick last quarter and is backing up at Mildura on Friday night.
Brilliantly bred duo Co Captain and Tactically Perfect were standout’s at their recent trials (Melton and Terang) and are also runners to follow.
BENDIGO 22/12/25
Trial 1: – MAURLEN GRACE settled seventh on the markers, moved into the one out and one back trail at the bell and came out three horses wide from the 400m. She sustained a good run to get up on the line. SKYFALL BENCHMARK began very quickly to find the lead and set up a genuine tempo. He went down fighting having been nosed out on the line and is racing in the opening event on Cobram Cup Day on Sunday. STAY CLEAN finished in third after trailing the leader throughout and will be making his debut at Charlton on Monday. MONTANA CHEVELLE was the first of the trotters across the line after she settled three back on the markers around the first turn.
Mile Rate: – 1.58.0 Last Half: – 57.7 Margins: – Nose, 12m
Trial 2: – COASTAL WATERS was one of three rising juveniles for trainer Rita Burnett. He was able to win the trial after setting the speed, getting headed on the home turn and kicking back strongly to grab victory on the line. GO MILO GO trailed the leader, came to the outside at the 400m and hit the lead on the home turn but was outstayed late. COBARGO MILLY settled three back on the markers and battled on fairly well for third. VINCENTS GOLD broke stride at the start and lost approximately fifteen metres. He settled four back on the inside, came out three horses wide at the 400m and loomed as a chance on the home turn but peaked late.
Mile Rate: – 2.10.4 Last Half: – 64.3 Margins: – Nose, 7m
Trial 4: – PAS GUARANTEE settled four back on the inside, moved into the death seat at the 800m mark and sustained a strong run to win impressively. FOLLOWTHEACE trailed the leader and angled away from the inside at the 150m mark. He worked home well in fast final sectionals to finish in second. FRANCO NOVELIST NZ was third after trying to lead throughout and THE MAHARANI NZ (3 back pegs) was the fourth horse across the line.
Mile Rate: – 1.56.6 Last Half: – 55.8 Margins: – 2m, 13m
Trial 6: – NUGGET ROGERS began quickly to find the lead then took cover shortly after the start. He came to the outside with 300m remaining and finished off best in a slick last quarter of 27.5 seconds to win comfortably. He is backing up at Mildura on Friday night and will prove very hard to beat. JILLIBY ILLUSION attempted to lead throughout and was run down over the final stages. TOPSIES BLING settled five back on the markers and ran home solidly in the latter stages for a handy third. GOOD DAY settled last of the six runners, moved up without cover at the 600m and battled on okay for fourth.
Mile Rate – 1.57.3 Last Half: – 57.7 Margins: – 8m, 6m
BLACKBOOKER: – Nugget Rogers
Trial 8: – FEAR THE POWER began very quickly and worked to the front shortly after the start. He rolled along at an even tempo and dashed well clear over the latter stages to win easily. WICKED ONE raced without cover early, restrained onto the markers to be three back and ran into a distant second. THE TRAWLER was four back on the markers, moved into the death seat at the 500m mark and made good ground late for third. DIVINE TILLY settled down last of the five runners, came out three horses wide at the 300m and worked into a distant fourth.
Mile Rate: – 1.59.7 Last Half: – 58.0 Margins: – 17m, 3m
MELTON ENTERTAINMENT PARK 22/12/25
Trial 1: – CO CAPTAIN is a colt by Captaintreacherous out of Glitterazzi, which makes come from the same maternal family as Baby Bling NZ (1.50.5, $854,490) and Bling It On (1.50.2, $1,882,957). He recorded a slick mile rate of 1.56.3 to win the opening trial over DE BEAU ROCK so he might be worth following. DE BEAU ROCK is racing in the Homegrown Classic at Melton on Saturday night. The leading duo finished well clear of the third placed DIAMOND CHIPP.
Mile Rate: – 1.56.3 Last Half: – 56.5 Margins: – 2.25m, 27.25m
BLACKBOOKER: – Co Captain
Trial 2: – DUNDEA showed promise at his opening trial performance at Bendigo a week earlier and was able to win at his second trial attempt. He is a colt by Angus Hall and is related to the handy performers Scootin Around (2.0.7, $88,789) and The Sargent (2.3.0, $24,770). That win would have given him some confidence leading up to his debut effort in the Homegrown Classic at Melton on Saturday night. He defeated WHATS THE GOSS with FRANCO AMERICANO being last of the three runners across the line. FRANCO AMERICANO is also competing in the Homegrown Classic at Melton on Saturday night.
Mile Rate: – 2.6.5 Last Half: – 62.2 Margins: – 3.5m, 3.75m
Trial 3: – UNCLE CHAN NZ hasn’t raced since September and has joined trainer Trent Medcraft since his latest performance. He recorded handy time in his trial success. He is resuming at Charlton on Monday afternoon. ARCEE PHOENIX has returned from his unplaced effort in the Dominion during the New Zealand Cup Carnival. He finished in second with his stable mate ALDEBARAN ACRUX USA being over a length away in third. CALYPSO MISTRESS wasn’t far behind ALDEBARAN ACRUX USA at the end and was fourth across the line.
Mile Rate: – 1.57.3 Last Half: – 57.9 Margins: – 5m, 5.75m
Trial 4: – COCONUT MICKEY broke stride at the start and was placed outside of the draw at his latest performance. He has been successful in two trials since and his latest trial success was quite comfortable with a length victory over ACOOL INVESTMENT, which hasn’t raced since August 2023. EL BRAVO finished a distant third and finished well ahead of RATTLE MY CAGE.
Mile Rate: – 2.0.5 Last Half: – 59.5 Margins: – 3m, 24.25m
Trial 5: – GENERAL LINCOLN hasn’t raced since a second at Ballarat in June. He possesses good gate speed and relished the short trip by winning his trial in a mile rate of 1.58.2. MUSELET finished in second position with MY ULTIMATE LUIGI NZ, which was stood down to trial at his previous performance, being the third horse across the line. FOUR LONELY NIGHTS was the fourth horse to greet the judge and HER MADGEJESTY finished a distant last.
Mile Rate: – 1.58.2 Last Half: – 57.5 Margins: – 2m, 2m
TERANG 22/12/25
Trial 1: – CODE BAILEY NZ has been in great form at open class level and appears to be one of the leading chances at Melton on Saturday night. He slipped home in sizzling final sectionals (54.4, 27.0) to win the opening trial on the program. JILLIBY WILLOW is a fine mare and hasn’t raced for over a year. She did a good job to finish within a length of the winner in fast time. JILLIBY NITRO finished last of the three runners.
Mile Rate: – 1.59.0 Last Half: – 54.4 Margins: – 2m, 7.5m
Trial 2: – JILLIBY BALLERINI has returned from her Dominion campaign in New Zealand and she finished an unlucky fourth in the Group 1 feature. She was able to win the trial by a comfortable margin over IMPERIAL MONARCH NZ with the pacer JILLIBY ILLUMINATE NZ being the last horse to greet the judge.
Mile Rate: – 1.59.9 Last Half: – 56.9 Margins: – 5m, Head
Trial 3: – TACTICALLY PERFECT NZ is a New Zealand bred filly that has joined Margaret and Paddy Lee. She won the trial by a comfortable margin and considering she is out of the fast mare Timeless Perfection (1.56.9) and is closely related to Rakero Rebel (1.51.1, $452,485), Plutonium Lady (1.54.2, $212,464) and Wah’s Fire Bug (1.51.4, $231,464), she is worth following. She is drawn poorly for her debut performance at Charlton on Monday but she should go well. STEEL MIKI finished in second position and the trotter REGINALDS REIGN, which has been showing ability but has made a few errors recently, was the third horse across the line.
Mile Rate: – 2.4.9 Last Half: – 58.5 Margins: – 6m, 15.5m
BLACKBOOKER: – Tactically Perfect NZ
