Harness Racing Victoria form analyst Craig Rail might have found one for the punters to consider at Gunbower this Sunday.
Rail spied the John Tormey-trained Paris Princess at the Bendigo trials on Monday and liked what he saw ahead of her first-up assignment in the R.L. and S.J. Priestley Pty Ltd Mares Pace.
“She finished off strongly and was able to win by a good margin, which is a good form pointer for her performance at Gunbower on Sunday where she appears to be one of the leading chances,” Rail wrote.
Paris Princess was one of four “Blackbookers” from the Victorian trials this week, with Rail also adding Fulloffight, Zahra Lou and Pinnie to his list of horses to follow.
TRIAL REPORT
SHEPPARTON 08/02/24
Trial 2: - KETO NZ has had a few issues with his gait since coming from New Zealand but there is no questioning his ability. He trailed the leader DIAMOND ECLIPSE, used the sprint lane and finished off strongly via the sprint lane to win seemingly with plenty in reserve. Adding to his already impressive performance is the fact his National Rating is 53 and DIAMOND ECLIPSE has a National Rating of 77. DIAMOND ECLIPSE finished second and his stable mate KIA ORA BEAUTY was last of the three runners throughout but wasn’t beaten by far. Both horses will be competing at Gunbower on Sunday.
Mile Rate: - 1.58.6 Last Half: - 57.8 Margins: - 4m, 2m
BACCHUS MARSH 10/02/24
Trial 1: - JILLIBY TYPHOON was able to take out the first trial on the program before backing up at Geelong on Wednesday afternoon, where he finished in fourth position. The second and fourth placed horses LITTLE ART and VILLAGE RHYTHM will both be backing up at Melton this evening and SKADI split the pair by finishing in third place.
Mile Rate: - 2.6.7 Last Half: - 60.5 Margins: - 2m, 6m
Trial 3: - ORCH recorded slow time in taking out the third trial of the day. He has only had three career starts to date with his latest effort being a twelfth at Maryborough on January 22. The second placed ANGEL OF ANGER will be making her debut for trainer Basil Dooley at Melton this evening. She was placed at Mount Gambier at her latest attempt and was an impressive winner of a trial at Maryborough a week prior so she could run a good race from the pole position this evening. HER MADGEJESTY has only had 1 start back in April 2023. She was third across the line ahead of LYNNES SPECIAL.
Mile Rate: - 2.7.8 Last Half: - 61.5 Margins: - 2m, 15m
Trial 6: - BEST BACK BRUCE is a speedy type for trainer Dianne Giles. He used the Bacchus Marsh trial victory as a stepping stone to his first up performance at Geelong on Wednesday afternoon, where he ran a game race for second. He was able to defeat the Darren Pace trained pacer I’M ROWDY in the trial with BETTOR BREEZE ON just behind in third position.
Mile Rate: - 2.4.6 Last Half: - 60.2 Margins: - 4m, Head
Trial 7: - LADY VICI broke stride on debut but has been able to win two trials since. She was able to win her trial over BLITZER I HOPE, which hasn’t started since a sixth at Geelong in March 2023 with SCAR finishing in third position. LADY VICI will be competing alongside several nicely bred first starters at Melton tonight so it is a tricky race to assess on paper but she does appear to have the ability to perform well.
Mile Rate: - 2.8.5 Last Half: - 61.9 Margins: - 10m, 5m
Trial 8: - DISTRICT ATTORNEY has joined trainer Jodi Quinlan since a Melton victory in October. He boasts a very good strike and possesses a dynamic turn of speed as evidenced by his last quarter of 27.2 seconds at his trial success. He is backing up in the Terang Cup tomorrow night along with the second placed SEW WHAT, which has been in outstanding form in recent weeks. MODERN BLISS was last of the three runners across the line and will also be competing at Terang tomorrow night.
Mile Rate: - 2.11.8 Last Half: - 58.1 Margins: - 5m, 1m
BENDIGO 12/02/24
Trial 4: - JACKS ULTIMATE FURY NZ is a juvenile pacer for trainer Russell Jack that was able to led throughout and win his trial. It was a narrow victory but the last half was respectable and he was taking on mostly 3yo pacers. FULLOFFIGHT NZ is a former New Zealand pacer for trainer Julie Douglas and settled four back on the inside before making a move with 600m remaining. He missed out by a narrow margin and went to the line with plenty in reserve so it was a tidy display. MISTER THREEOFIVE was three back on the markers, moved into the one out and one back trail behind FULLOFFIGHT NZ on the home turn and battled on well for third place.
Mile Rate: - 2.3.8 Last Half: - 58.2 Margins: - Head, 2m
BLACKBOOKER: - Fulloffight NZ
Trial 5: - GRACIAS NZ looked good at his return for trainer Chris Svanosio. He was three back on the markers, moved around the field to find the lead at the 1400m and scored comfortably at the end. The interesting runner was the Anton Golino trained American bred trotter NABRINA USA. She trailed the leader early, ended up being three back on the inside and made a move at the 500m mark. She finished second ahead of WILL PATRICK, which led out, took cover and waited for the sprint lane.
Mile Rate: - 2.9.5 Last Half: - 61.2 Margins: - 5m, 2m
Trial 7: - PARIS PRINCESS settled five back on the inside, moved into the one out and one back trail at the 600m mark and came out three horses wide at the 300m. She finished off strongly and was able to win by a good margin, which is a good form pointer for her performance at Gunbower on Sunday, where she appears to be one of the leading chances. EAGER EYES finished in second position after attempting to lead throughout. He broke stride in the final 50m but was already overtaken by PARIS PRINCESS at the time. LET ME TELL YOU NZ settled six back on the inside, moved off the pegs with 800m remaining and battled on reasonably well for third. PLATINUM DANCER finished fourth after trailing the leader throughout.
Mile Rate: - 2.2.8 Last Half: - 59.2 Margins: - 10m, 1m
BLACKBOOKER: - Paris Princess
Trial 9: - COURAGEOUS SAINT trailed the leader DHAULAGIRI NZ and came to the outside with 300m remaining. He finished off best and won with something in reserve so it was a tidy display, particularly considering the last quarter was run in a sizzling 26.9 seconds. DHAULAGIRI NZ was beaten by two metres and PRAY TELL was tailed off throughout after galloping in the score up.
Mile Rate: - 2.2.5 Last Half: - 55.2 Margins: - 2m, 200m
Trial 10: - ULTIMATE VINNIE trailed the leader CEMETERY BAY in a field of just two horses and proved to be superior in the straight as he drew clear at the end to win by a handy margin. CEMETERY BAY is backing up against a strong field at Terang tomorrow night.
Mile Rate: - 1.59.5 Last Half: - 55.5 Margin: - 12m
MELTON ENTERTAINMENT PARK 13/02/24
Trial 1: - The champion mare LADIES IN RED made an appearance in the opening trial and appeared to be very sharp in her success over MACH DAN. MACH DAN led and ran along at a very genuine tempo with LADIES IN RED sitting in the trail. She came to the outside on the home turn and was able to get home best in a scintillating last quarter of 26.75 seconds. MACH DAN was beaten narrowly into second while BLITZERN was last of the three runners throughout.
Mile Rate: - 1.52.6 Last Half: - 54.33 Margins: - Head, 51m
Trial 2: - PINNIE is a former Queensland filly that hasn’t raced since winning the Qbred Triad Final in August. She is beautifully bred being by Volstead, which created a big impression at his freshman season as a sire last term, out of the very good mare Needle NZ (1.57.4, $122,481). She led out, took cover behind ATEGO ROBBO in the trial and was able to win softly. LOCHINVAR SON was last of the three runners throughout.
Mile Rate: - 2.4.2 Last Half: - 60.02 Margins: - 14.5m, 23.5m
BLACKBOOKER: - Pinnie
Trial 3: - ZAHRA LOU is by Sweet Lou out of the former fast mare Bella Shine (1.55.5, $53,890). He dropped out to last early, moved away from the inside at the 300m and finished off boldly to win the trial impressively albeit by a narrow margin. KING REPELLERE continued his impressive trial form with a close second after racing without cover early then finding the lead at the 1300m mark. WRITTENINTHESKY made ground from three back on the markers to finish a close up third in what could be a good trial for future reference.
Mile Rate: - 2.1.8 Last Half: - 58.42 Margins: - ½ Neck, Head
BLACKBOOKER: - Zahra Lou
Trial 5: - PERFECT CLASS is a classy 4yo pacer, which won the Breeders Crown last season and finished second in the 4yo Bonanza when resuming. He pushed forward to find the lead and dominated his rivals in the trial to win by a comfortable margin. MAGNETIC TERROR NZ was without cover early, pulled hard and was eventually able to slot in behind the leader with 1100m remaining. He finished second and was well clear of the former Queensland pacer DELIGHTFUL MAJOR NZ, which was behind the leader early before ending up being three back on the inside. He will be competing at Terang tomorrow night. MIRAKURU was last of the four pacers throughout.
Mile Rate: - 1.54.9 Last Half: - 55.35 Margins: - 9m, 2m?
Trial 8: - TRINITYS DELIGHT is returning from a spell at Melton this evening and created a good impression with an all of the way victory in a slick mile rate of 1.55.9 so she must be considered as a winning chance first up. HES OLLY NZ settled four back on the markers and was forced to weave a passage before finishing off strongly in the middle to snare second position. He is competing at Warragul on Monday and should perform well. NATHAN STREET was three back on the inside, moved up without cover at the 600m and battled on well for a close up third. He is heading up to Sydney and resumes from a spell at Menangle on Tuesday afternoon. SEVE NZ broke stride in the score up, missed the start by approximately 15m, settled down last of the six runners and came out four horses wide on the home turn so his performance was very good in fourth.
Mile Rate: - 1.55.9 Last Half: - 56.70 Margins: - Neck, Head
Trial 9: - THE LOST STORM hasn’t raced since finishing sixth in the Victoria Derby in October. The boom pacer stepped away slowly but safely from the standing start, settled last of the three runners and produced a big finish in a last quarter of 27.51 seconds to win the trial impressively. MODERN BLISS was backing up from his Bacchus Marsh trial effort on the Saturday and finished in second after trying to lead throughout. ARGGGHHH was the last one to cross the line after trailing the leader for the duration and is competing in the Gunbower Centenary Cup on Sunday.
Mile Rate: - 2.2.0 Last Half: - 55.63 Margins: - ½ Head, 11.5m
