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Live blog: Vicbred Super Series trotters finals

July 6, 2018
Lead News
By trots media - michael howard

It was a brilliant night’s racing at Tabcorp Park Melton with Yabby Dam Farms producing an early treble, Chris Svanosio breaking through for his maiden Group 1 win and an emotional victory for the Pangrazio family.

The Aldebaran Park Vicbred Super Series trotting finals produced an array of highs for connections, with Always Ready, Kinvara Sue, Moonshine Linda, Kheiron, Anywhere Hugo and Fear The Yankee all carving out a slice of Group 1 glory.

Relive it all with tonight’s thetrots.com.au live blog, and be sure to join us tomorrow night for another blow-by-blow account of Group 1 racing.

10.10pm: The favourites have closed the door on Aldebaran Park Vicbred Super Series trotting finals night, with Aleppo Jewel and Scruffy Doolan winning their respective Group 3 silver trots.

Trainer-driver Kerryn Manning won the three-year-old version with Aleppo Jewel, who secured the win by 5.2m.

Scruffy Doolan broke his maiden status with victory in the two-year-old silver trot, scoring for trainer-driver Geoff Webster at only his second start.

“I think he will develop into a handy horse,” Webster said post-race.

9.20pm: The last of the Group 1s have been run and won on Aldebaran Park Vicbred Super Series trotters finals night with Fear The Yankee winning the two-year-old fillies final.

Rapt owner Rachael Benns joined trainer Shane Gallagher and driver Anthony Butt in the winners’ circle and they all spoke with Rob Auber on Trots Vision.

Anthony Butt:

“Shane and Rachael have done a great job with her. She had a few tricks early on but she’s gotten better and better with racing and a few trials and she felt really good tonight. They put a lot into the game and it’s great for them to get the rewards.

“She felt really good behind the gates, which has been a bit of an issue with her. She came out nice, I didn’t want to burn too much, just worked my way across and when David Murphy’s one galloped the front was there for me and after that she was always travelling beautifully.

“She got away good around the bend. I saw a few coming wide about the 400 and thought I’d get going and try and make them catch her. She held them off well up the straight.”

Shane Gallagher:

“It was a hell of a thrill. She’ll just get better next year I think. Coming into this race we trained her up a bit, basically she’s been running on ability and we just turned her up in between runs and she’s jumped out of the ground.

“This is the last run for her two-year-old season. We won’t run her in the Redwood, we won’t meet the colts yet, we think a bit of her. We’ll do the right thing by her.”

Rachael Benns:

“I have to say tonight sitting up in the Toolern Room, I looked at the trophy and thought, ‘Ooh it’s a lovely trophy, I’d like one of those at home in the cupboard somewhere that we could look at’. But I thought maybe tonight might not be the night.

“We were lucky in the (Homegrown Classic), but she’s done everything right and everything just fell into place. We wanted to draw off the front, she did, and I knew with Anthony in the sulky she was never going to be too far away.”

8.50pm: A huge breakthrough for trainer Chris Svanosio who claims his first Group 1 as a trainer when Anywhere Hugo wins the Aldebaran Park Vicbred Super Series final for three-year-old colts and geldings.

It was a popular result for owner-breeders the Maclean family, who joined driver Gavin Lang in the winners’ circle.

Rob Auber talked to Lang and Svanosio post-race for Trots Vision. Here’s a recap:

Gavin Lang:

“Fortunately tonight he come up with the right alley, the horse has been well prepared and got a lovely run and he was good enough to get the job done.

“Very pleasing, especially for the Macleans, who bred this guy. It’s been a great ride for them. He’s always shown above average ability but his manners let him down early days. He’s really come to hand good now and the results are showing.”

Chris Svanosio:

“It’s fantastic. These are the races you want to win at the start of the season. Sires finals, they’ve been great races for a long time and to get a horse like Anywhere Hugo, the Macleans have needed a lot of patience with him and I’m glad I got him at the right time. I haven’t had him very long but he was ready to go on with when I got him and it was great to win a Group 1 with him.

“It’s fantastic just to be in these races, to have two horses there and to have Hugo get the job done.”

 

8.27pm: Next up is the three-year-old colts and geldings on Aldebaran Park Vicbred Super Series finals night, and that means Alison and Chris Alford’s superstar Wobelee.

 

 

8.20pm: A fantastic win for trainer Peter Lane and Anita Burke as Kheiron salutes in the Aldebaran Park Vicbred Super Series final for four-year-old entires and geldings.

The pair were on hand with winning driver Chris Alford to celebrate their success with Rob Auber on Trots Vision. Here’s a recap:

Chris Alford:

“He’s a credit to Peter and Anita. They’ve done a great job with him. He trots foolproof now. He only takes one run to come up and his run at the heat was pretty basic but tonight he was right on the top of his game.

“Didn’t think we had much hope with a lap to go because they hadn’t gone real hard. Things opened up and he probably should have won a little bit easier but Claudys Prince galloped in front of him at the 400 and sort of stopped his momentum and checked him back a bit, but he was still good enough to lift again.

“He has been really good pretty much this season. He has won a M0 and now he’s won a sires final, so it’s all onward and upward.”

Anita Burke:

“I’d just like to say thanks to Chris for a super drive and well done Pete – (Kheiron’s) been hard work but we love him. 

“He’s always been good enough, he just hasn’t always done everything right and hasn’t always had the draw or the luck. Everyone thinks he’s a front runner but we actually think that he goes pretty good from anywhere when he’s right and tonight he was right.

“At the top of the turn I thought he was going to get close. It was a super drive. Plenty of decibels, that was me, sorry everyone.”

Peter Lane:

“We are hobby trainers. We only have a couple of horses at home and one of those is a Shetland.

“He has been a bit of a headache, but he’s part of our family. He was born in the backyard, educated at home and he spells around the corner with friends of ours – the Dorrington family, they’ve been so wonderful helping us out.

“It’s been a team effort. The horse is great, Chris is fantastic, Anita basically does everything. She holds us all together. I have family who will hopefully get a kick out of this. My father and uncles, they started off in trotting. That’s how we got the bug. Whilst they never quite possibly shared these sort of heights I would like to think we are sharing it with them now.”

7.50pm: There were scenes of delight on the Tabcorp Park Melton straight after trainer-driver Gavin Lang gifted Neville Pangrazio and his family a Group 1 win with Moonshine Linda.

The filly defended her crown by winning the Aldebaran Park Vicbred Super Series final for three-year-old fillies, adding to her two-year-old triumph last year.

Gavin Lang spoke to Trots Vision’s Rob Auber after the race:

“I had been driving her for the Pangrazios and they then wanted me to train her for some odd reason. It wasn’t going bad when they had it.

“We’ve only probably had it four or five weeks, had its issues as you saw at Bendigo, but tonight she put it all together.

“Very satisfying to win for them. Neville’s father, Michael, and his brother had a horse with my dad when I was about two foot six tall – one of the best horses I can remember, Sheffield Thor, many many years ago. I feel very happy to win this for them.

“I got beaten for a little bit for speed for the first 50, but then she mustered after that. The five horse got up and over racing and made it a bit difficult for me to get up to the outside of the leader.

“Fortunately Kate (Gath) came along, gave me the trail and I was able to remain there until the top of the lane. She was good enough to get the job done.

“She won this edition last year as a two-year-old in her third start in a race. Zoomed off the gate, sat behind the leader and used the sprint lane. She’s a very honest filly and as we know manners get you a long way.”

 

7.20pm: A double for Yabby Dam Farms as Kinvara Sue survives a bold early challenge to win the Aldebaran Park Vicbred Super Series four-year-old mares final, which was a ripping race.

Driver Jason Lee and trainer Anto Golino spoke to Rob Auber for Trots Vision post-race.

Jason Lee:

“It’s a real credit to her really. The whole team, the effort they put in, Pat and Anton and the whole team, it’s an absolutely awesome effort.

“For this mare now, she’s been very handy from day dot. She was a little bit of a handful early on, but she’s obviously done it last year and done it again tonight.

“She didn’t get everything her own way. She did a bit of a catch me if you can tactic from the 300 and thankfully we just held on.

“We did get it back to a relatively nice pace. I was pretty happy that Chris (Alford) ended up getting in on my back because his one was pretty keen. If he had have been outside us and kept us rolling it might have been a different story. Definitely had to earn it.

“It’s not the size of them, it’s the fight in them. She’s been a really nice one right through and obviously done a great job for all the connections involved in her.”

Anton Golino:

“When they put the burners on going down the back I thought it was going to take a pretty big effort to hold on. She’s tough, she’s always been a tough horse. She was tough as a baby, she was difficult to break in and a difficult horse to get going. It shows in her racing style and I was a little nervous there for a bit.

“You hope and do the best you can to get them ready. Once the job’s done we are lucky enough to have great drivers driving them.”

6.55pm: Next up is the Aldebaran Park Vicbred Super Series four-year-old mares trot final.

 

6.50pm: The first Aldebaran Park Vicbred Super Series final has been run and won and it’s Yabby Dam Farms snapping up the two-year-old colts and geldings showdown for trainer Anton Golino and driver Nathan Jack.

The participants spoke to Trots Vision post-win.

Nathan Jack: “I was extremely happy when the barrier draw came out last week. I’ve got a lot of faith in this horse. He’s been at the trials and been well educated. It’s a credit to Anton and all the team. Throughout his races he’s never had much luck in the draw, but when he had luck in the draw he was rewarded for it.”

Anton Golino: “I couldn’t be prouder and happier for this horse. We’re glad to be able to produce a horse on the night who can get the job done. We’re very fortunate. We’ve got a lot of support from Pat (Driscoll) and have a great group of owners with this horse. It’s been a lot of work, we’ve built the place as we’ve gone along and tried to train the horses at the same time. It’s satisfying to get the job done on nights like tonight.”

6.29pm: We are on the cusp of the first Group 1 of the night, the Aldebaran Park Vicbred Super Series final for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings.

One of the big hopes is David Jack’s ripping boy Moreton Bay, snapped here ahead of his big race:

6:20pm: The super trotter of the season has done it again with Tornado Valley saluting for trainer Andy Gath and driver Kate Gath in a dominant Noopy Kiosk Free For All win.

Kate Gath spoke to Trots Vision straight after the win:

“His gate speed’s such a huge asset. I don’t think he had a lot of it before he come over, but he just runs (the gate) here without even asking him.

“It makes a big difference. He’s proven he can do it tough as well. He’s just such a great horse to have and we are so happy we’ve got him.

“He just keeps wanting to do his work and does it easy. While he’s going well we’re just going to keep running in these races.

“It’s tricky giving one’s going well a spell at times. He hasn’t lightened off, he’s not showing any signs that he’s tired or is sour or anything.

“We’ll definitely give him some time off (before the December Inter Dominion), but it might only be two or three weeks. It’s probably all that he needs.

“Vets are saying these days there is scientific evidence that horses don’t need long spells, you can keep them going through the motions but not have to have them right at their top all the time.”

6pm: We’re blessed to have some great photographers on course tonight, with our Tabcorp Park Melton snapper Stuart McCormick bringing us all the winners and great to also have Ashlea Brennan capturing the moments that matter.

 

5.55pm: The second brought a special win for trainer Jess Tubbs, driver Greg Sugars and owners of Hellbound, who captured the Aldebaran Park Vicbred Super Series four-year-old silver trot.

“It might as well be the Inter Dominion for us,” Sugars told Trots Vision. “This is fantastic. Terrific group of owners here, a pretty new kind of syndicate formed just in recent times.

“Long-standing connections of my partner Jess’s father and his team, with the Dobsons, the Setorious have joined with a lot of my long-term owners. The Jarvis family have bought into this horse and bought into another one in recent times.

“Very special to get a win like this for them, especially for the Jarvis family. Gary and Rohan unfortunately lost their father only last week. He was a terrific follower of the trots and a great supporter of mine, so it’s a special win for them.”

5.35pm: Get the Good Form at www.goodform.trot.com.au

 

5.25pm: Could it be Yabby Dam Farms’ night? It’s certainly kicked off in winning fashion as Dance Craze salutes in the Graeme Maher Memorial Trot for trainer Anton Golino and driver Nathan Jack.

Punters pulled the right rein as the beautifully bred Muscle Hill-La Coocaracha four-year-old mare dominated the opener.

Jack spoke to Trots Vision post-race and delivered some tasty tidbits for punters about some of his other runners:

R3 N8 Aldebaran Eve: “She’s a nightmare to drive, but she’s got so much ability you have to put up with her. If her head’s right she’ll be thereabouts.”

R4 N1 Always Ready: “Hasn’t had any lucky in the draws so far. This week it’s been turned around. Hopefully we can turn the results around. He’s very professional, hopefully he can be in front for a long way.”

R8 N12 Majestic Player: “He’s out of the draw now. I don’t expect him to win, but if he trots right I wouldn’t be surprised if he runs a place.”

 

5.15pm: Get the winners’ words and savour the moments that matter on Vicbred Super Series finals night for the Aldebaran Park trotters through thetrots.com.au’s live blog.

It’s an enormous night for all – participants, breeders, owners and fans – who have coveted this Group 1 success since their foals first met the farm.

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