Lance Justice looks to have plucked another nice type from across the Tasman, with Deuce Coupe impressing in his Geelong trial.
Having won his only New Zealand start in a non-winners mobile in September before being shipped to Justice, the two-year-old was an eye-catcher this week and is set to return to Beckley Park for his first Australian start on Boxing Day.
That follows his December 19 Geelong trial where he settled last before advancing to the front for almost the last mile and winning easily.
Marg Lee's Keayang Tokyo also impressed at the Geelong trials and was added to the Trial File Blackbook, along with Rebecca Bartley and Stephen O'Donoghue's Big Bad Ossie.
Here are this week's highlights from the Victorian trials circuit, including Blackbooker replays.
SHEPPARTON 15/12/22
Trial 1: - NOMORELYING trailed the leader, moved away from the inside on the home turn and got home best to get the prize. BIG BAD OSSIE has performed extremely well in many trials throughout his career but he has been very lightly raced to date. He has a National Rating of 49 and was taking on horses of Metropolitan quality but still managed to run second after settling three back on the inside and finishing hard held on the back of the winner late. He will take beating the next time he steps out onto the track. THE CRIMSON PRINCE NZ attempted to lead throughout and finished third with CURLY JAMES coming from last of the five runners to finish fourth.
Mile Rate: - 2.1.1 Last half: - 57.4 Margins: - 5m, 5m
BLACKBOOKER: - Big Bad Ossie
Trial 3: - SHESAWISH settled three back on the inside, started a run at the 500m and sprinted nicely to get the prize. It was a good hit-out for her performance at Melton on Thursday, where she scored impressively. SEBASTIANS BOY continued his good form with a handy second. He was without cover early, restrained to being fifth on the pegs mid-race, gained a one out and one back trail behind SHESAWISH and worked to the line nicely.
Mile Rate: - 2.6.1 Last Half: - 59.6 Margins: - 1m, 15m
KILMORE 15/12/22
Trial 1: - The smart trotter DONTOUCH THE DUCO hasn’t raced since June but appeared to be pretty sharp in his victory over the pacer SOUTHERN GNP NZ. He settled three back on the inside, made a move at the 600m mark and dashed clear from just after the quarter pole.
Mile Rate: - 2.8.0 Last Half: - 61.2 Margins: - 20m, 7.5m
Trial 2: - KIMORA SAFFI completely dominated her two rivals AETHON and POSH KYVALLEY. She pushed forward to find the lead, kept on rolling and scored by 105m! She backed up at Maryborough several days later and won a heat of the Super Series.
Mile Rate: - 2.4.7 Last Half: - 61.6 Margins: - 105m, 38m
KYABRAM 18/12/22
Trial 1: - DALLAS MIKI broke stride and lost his chance when unplaced at Maryborough on December 15. He was able to gain some confidence with a trial victory over INCLEMENT, which hasn’t raced for over a year and TRUMPYS LEGEND finished in third position. DALLAS MIKI will be racing at Shepparton on Tuesday night.
Mile Rate: - 2.5.4 Last Half: - 61.0 Margins: - 3m, 4m
Trial 3: - UPRIGHT hasn’t started since a fourth at Shepparton in October. He was able to win his trial by a comfortable margin over the former South Australian pacer STYLISH HEAVEN with SHES GOING PLACES being in third. SHES GOING PLACES backed up with a big second in fast time at Echuca on Wednesday night.
Mile Rate: - 2.6.9 Last Half: - 60.9 Margins: - 10m, 4m
GEELONG 19/12/22
Trial 1: - VINCENZINA trailed the leader SOHO RHAPSODY, came to the outside with 150m remaining and sprinted sharply to win the trial impressively. She is meeting a strong field first up at Geelong on Monday. SOHO RHAPSODY was well clear of the remainder of the field in second with FORTY THIEVES NZ being in third after settling last of the four runners. The official results have Solesseo Matuca finishing fourth but the horse was broadcast as OZZIE SUNSHINE on the night and considering Solesseo Matuca ran around in a trial later in the program, it was most likely OZZIE SUNSHINE (3 back markers) being the last one across the line.
Mile Rate: - 1.57.8 Last Half: - 56.5 Margins: - 2m, 20m
Trial 3: - KEAYANG TOKYO settled three back on the markers, moved through to trail the leader on the home turn and used the sprint lane. He sprinted quickly and was able to win with something in reserve. MY BUCKS NIGHT trailed the leader, moved to the outside at the 400m mark and tried hard for second. It was a very game performance considering he is a rising 2yo pacer and the time was handy.
Mile rate: - 2.2.3 Last Half: - 58.1 Margins: - 2.5m, 1m
BLACKBOOKER: - Keayang Tokyo
Trial 5: - SOLESSEO MATUCA showed gate speed to lead and rolled along at a genuine tempo. He was always in control of the trial and finished off in slick final sectionals so he is obviously getting back to his best form. The trotter KEAYANG LIVANA trailed the leader and battled on well for second with WHERES SEGGY being last of the three runners throughout. KEAYANG LIVANA returns from a spell in the Yabby Dam Farms Trotters Free For All at Geelong on Monday night.
Mile Rate: - 1.59.1 Last Half: - 55.8 Margins: - 8m, 3m
Trial 6: - DEUCE COUPE NZ settled down in last position, dashed around the field to find the lead at the 1500m and remained strong at the finish to score easily. He had one start in New Zealand for one victory and he was quite impressive in his trial victory so he is worth following. He makes his Australian debut at Geelong on Monday night. JILLIBY TSUNAMI began quickly to lead, took a trail at the 1500m and moved away from the inside on the home turn. He battled on fairly well for second with LUVA SCRAP (4 back pegs) being in third position.
Mile Rate: - 2.2.6 Last Half: - 58.1 Margins: - 6m, 2m
BLACKBOOKER: - Deuce Coupe NZ
BENDIGO 19/12/22
Trial 2: - OLLIVICI NZ began fast and rolled to the front shortly after the start. He was always in control of the trial and ran clear at the end to win untouched. He returns from a break at Geelong on Monday night. ELECTROJET trailed the leader throughout and battled on fairly well for second with BENJI HALL (3 back pegs) being in third position.
Mile Rate: - 2.1.0 Last Half: - 57.7 Margins: - 10m, 13m
Trial 3: - SHAUNIE USA continued his very good form with an effortless display. He settled in sixth position early, gained one out and one back trail at the 900m and finished off too well. AUNTY BESSY is a former Tasmanian pacer, which has recently joined trainer Julie Douglas. She settled in seventh position, moved away from the inside at the 700m and hit the lead before the home turn but peaked late. She backed up at Bendigo on Thursday night and tired into tenth after setting the speed. MY HIGH PEAK trailed the speed, got held up behind the tiring leader and was doing his best work at the end to finish a nice third.
Mile Rate: - 2.1.5 Last Half: - 60.2 Margins: - 10m, 5m
Trial 6: - ISLAND ROCKNROLL trailed the leader, was held up for a run at a vital stage and finished off strongly through the middle to win nicely. She appeared to be back to her best form after a disappointing effort at Yarra Valley at her last race track appearance and will compete at Leeton on Monday. DIGYOURHEELSIN settled fifth on the inside, gained the one out and one back trail at the 300m and angled out three horses wide on the home turn. She is racing in good form and continued the roll on with a handy trial performance. She backed up with an unplaced effort at Bendigo on Thursday night.
Mile Rate: - 2.0.7 Last Half: - 59.7 Margins: - 4m, 10m
Trial 8: - ZAHVEN BANNER NZ was driven in similar fashion to his trial victory at Bendigo a week earlier, where he dropped out to last, zipped around the field from the 1800m to find the lead then dominated his rivals thereafter. He will be tough to place having a National Rating of 104 but he does appear to be at his peak. He is competing at Metropolitan level at Geelong on Monday. BOY FROM BONDI finished second after being shuffled back to last in the early stages and AJAY BREEZY ROSE was third after ending up being three back on the markers from the 1600m.
Mile Rate: - 2.1.4 Last Half: - 56.5 Margins: - 6m, 1m
BALLARAT 19/12/22
Trainer Damien Burns prepared a double in the last two trials on the program. The first leg of the double was MAJORHOLEINMYPOCKET, which led throughout and just held off FOUR LONELY NIGHTS. IDLE TIMES followed the winning trend with an all of the way victory over SKYZ ABOVE. He finished off in a slick final half of 56.0 seconds and scored by 30m so he was the most impressive winner of the day.
WARRAGUL 21/12/22 (The results are not yet on the official website)
Trial 1: - MISTIE REIGN impressively won the trial by a large margin. He missed the start by approximately 50m but it was probably by design then he chased hard to tack on at the 1200m. He made his move at the quarter pole and sprinted very sharply. The trotter B K MERLOT NZ trailed the leader, moved to the death seat at the 1000m and finished second with SPIRITED LASS being the last horse home after setting the speed and breaking stride with 300m remaining.
Mile Rate: - Not given Last Half: - Not given Margins: - Not Given
