Talented trotting mare Copacabana is truly the toast of Cranbourne following an effortless end-to-end win in a heat of the Aldebaran Park Skyvalley Vicbred Super Series for four-year-olds at Tabcorp Park Melton on Thursday afternoon.
The Andover Hall mare is raced by the Cranbourne Club 21 Limited, an initiative of the Cranbourne Harness Racing Club to introduce new people into standardbred ownership.
“The group comprises 60 people predominantly from Cranbourne and the surrounding area. They race four horses on lease from prominent breeders and owners,” Cranbourne HRC president David Scott said.
The quartet are The Falcon Prince, who has won five races to date including one at Melton, the trotter Naked Ambition, whose seven successes include the 2021 Breeders Crown Graduate, Copacabana and Wild Card, a former Kiwi pacer who will make his Aussie debut next month.
However, Copacabana is unquestionably the pin-up girl for her loyal band of supporters. Trained at Myrniong by Jess Tubbs and driven by her husband Greg Sugars, the four-year-old has won eight races and almost $60,000 in stakes.
“We had a setback with her earlier the year, but she’s right back to her best,” Scott said.
Copacabana was bred and is owned by Nick Hooper, the president of Harness Breeders Victoria.
The Tubbs/Sugars combination took out the opening heat for the mares with the classy Visionary, the first of two heat winners bred by Pat Driscoll’s Yabby Dam Farms. The other winner was Dont Care in the second heat for the boys.
Aldebaran Zeus, the nominal favourite for the $100,000 Final at Melton on New Year’s Eve, streeted his opposition in the opening division, his sixth success form 10 starts this season.
David Scott completed a ‘double’ when Locksley Lover, who he bred out of the 2009 Redwood winner Elusive Charm, captured the final heat for entires and geldings.
