With almost 4500 wins in the sulky beside her name, champion reinswoman Kerryn Manning is more qualified than most in assessing the merits of an emerging star on the racetrack.
So, it’s worth noting Manning’s reaction after she was the pilot in Fighter Command’s dominant win in the Swift Signs Free For All at Melton on Saturday night.
The lightly-raced Jess Tubbs-trained five-year-old gathered up his rivals in a few strides when asked to extend by Manning around the home turn and arrogantly put a nine-metre margin on a gallant Catch A Wave on the line in a mile rate of 1:52.0.
Manning, who was having her first drive on Fighter Command, was effusive in her praise after the race.
“It’s nice to drive a horse like him. I haven’t driven one with a motor that feels that big for quite a while,” Manning said.
“He doesn’t even feel like he accelerates, he just gets past everybody like they are standing still. And to run past those horses of that calibre tonight is a bit scary.”
Tubbs believes Fighter Command has thrived since his recent Inter Dominion campaign in Brisbane where he won a heat on the opening night.
“Based on that performance tonight where he has run his last 800 in 53.3, I would have to say that he’s come back from the trip a better horse for the experience,” Tubbs said.
“The thing is he has incredible acceleration for such a big horse, he doesn’t need to wind up. So, if he’s close and handy then he is always going to be in any race he goes in.
“The Victoria Cup is eight weeks away so we will just keep him ticking over.”
Manning completed a driving double when she steered the Kylie Sugars-trained Ijustcalledtosay to victory in the Vale Ian Caruana Trot.
Ijustcalledtosay ($7) made a sweeping run three wide on his own for the final 800 metres to grab the verdict by a neck from Aldebaran Abel.
As with Fighter Command, Manning was having her first sit behind the winner in a race.
“The horse behind me flushed me out, but I wasn’t afraid to go on my own as he was travelling really strong and moved up to them really comfortably and he kept finding in the straight,” she said.
NSW Trotters Derby winner Pastor Dunbar chalked up another feature-race success when took out the Group 3 VHRC The Holmfield (3YO) Trot.
Despite facing the breeze at his first start in three months, Pastor Dunbar ($2.70 fav) proved superior to his rivals, surging to the front with 400 metres to travel and then scoring by three metres from Notanotha Naughty in a mile rate of 1:56.
Driver Damian Wilson mapped out a busy feature itinerary in the coming months for his rising star.
“You know he is something better than normal because he works with nice class pacers at home and doesn’t have any trouble with them – we know he’s pretty special,” Wilson said.
“He’ll back up in 13 days in the Vicbred series and the final a week later, then we’ll work out the Derby which is about five or six weeks after that. We’ll get to the Sires and work out what we’ll do with him then.”
Promising Chris Lang and Sonia Mahar-prepared juvenile trotter Verbici ($1.33 fav) maintained his unbeaten career record when he outsprinted his rivals in the Bob Conroy 2YO Trotters Classic.
The son of Orlando Vici displayed a turn of foot when Lang pulled out around the home turn and Verbici quickly reeled in the leader Regal Gala to score by a metre.
Verbici is yet to have his colours lowered in five starts and Lang expects the youngster to continue to thrive.
“This horse is still improving and he’ll improve on that run tonight,” he said. “He doesn’t know how not to win, so we’ll keep a lid on it until the big ones come up. We couldn’t ask for more than we’ve got here.”
The Group 1-winning mare I Am Wilma completed a double for the Lang stable when she outclassed her rivals in the Prydes Easifeed Trot with Chris Alford in the sulky.
First-up since mid-June, I Am Wilma had little trouble leading all the way and winning by an 18-metre margin on second placegetter I Dream Of Millie in a mile rate of 1:58.
“With mares like (Keayang) Zahara and (Jilliby) Ballerini not around, it was her race to lose tonight so she did really well and looking forward to the Sires Stakes now,” Alford said.
