Craig Rail has put a ring around The Egg Counter after an impressive trial performance in good company at Bendigo this week.
The lightly-raced three-year-old is now in the care of trainer Julie Douglas and performed well to grab second behind the smart District Attorney on Monday.
That was the latest in a string of good trials, making The Egg Counter one of five new Blackbook entries this week.
The others include Chivalry, who goes around in race two at Cobram on Friday, Calling Buddy, Rakero Blaze and Our Lady Lara.
Rail's wrap from this week's trial circuit can be found below, with the updated Blackbook at the bottom of the page.
TRIAL REPORT
SHEPPARTON 01/12/22
Trial 1: - CHIVALRY NZ is a New Zealand bred pacer that is being prepared by Lisa Bartley. He led throughout and recorded brilliant time on his way to win by 40m. He makes his debut at Cobram this afternoon and will prove very hard to beat. LENNYS ANGEL settled sixth on the inside, came out three horses wide in the back straight and worked into second position. She settled well back on the markers from an awkward draw and finished unplaced at Maryborough on Thursday. SHE HAUNTS EM settled fifth on the inside and finished a distant third.
Mile Rate: - 1.57.6 Last Half: - 57.8 Margins: - 40m, 15m
BLACKBOOKER: - Chivalry
Trial 2: - BOY FROM BONDI led out then took a trail at the 1200m and scored via the sprint lane. ACCELERE trailed the leader and circled around to find the lead mid-race. He was run down over the concluding stages but beat the remainder of the field headed by HEREHECOMES (4 back pegs) by a comfortable margin.
Mile Rate: - 1.58.7 Last Mile: - 59.5 Margins: - 4m, 8m
Trial 4: - SEBASTIANS BOY began quickly to lead, took cover and ended up being three back on the markers from the 1700m. He moved to the outside at the 400m and proved too strong in the run to the finish. It was a good hit-out for his effort at Bendigo this evening, where he is meeting a quality field. SENITAS STRENGTH settled sixth on the inside and ran home well out wide late. She is returning from a spell at Bendigo this evening.
Mile Rate: - 2.3.4 Last Half: - 61.8 Margins: - 8m, Neck
MILDURA 01/12/22 (The trial results haven’t been uploaded onto the internet at this stage)
Trial 3: - IM THE BOUNTY HUNTER NZ began quickly to find the lead and always appeared to be in control of the trial. He dashed well clear over the concluding stages and won easily. He finished third at his Mildura debut last week and has drawn favourably again on Monday night. ELPINE WARRIOR settled three back on the markers, came to the outside and was finding the line quite nicely, despite finishing approximately twenty-five metres from the winner.
Mile Rate: - Not Given Last Half: - Not Given Margins: - 25m, 25m (approximately)
KYABRAM 04/12/22
Trial 1: - FEAR CRUISIN NZ appeared to be very well graded considering he has a National Rating of 90. He was able to defeat JUST A PHILTRA with DALLAS PATRICK being last of the three runners to complete the course. FEAR CRUISIN NZ will compete in a heat of the Australasian Young Drivers Championship at Melton tomorrow night.
Mile Rate: - 2.9.0 Last Half: - 60.0 Margins: - 15m, 1m
BENDIGO 05/12/22
Trial 1: - SILVER POWER NZ jumped to the lead from the standing start and set up a slow tempo. She was able to score by a narrow margin but seemed to have something in reserve. USED TO BE A MAID filled second spot after being three back on the inside and moving through to be behind the leader at the quarter pole. GET SMART MAX trailed the leader, moved to the outside at the 400m mark but couldn’t go with the leading duo.
Mile Rate: - 2.8.7 Last Half: - 59.9 Margins: - Head, 9m
Trial 4: - BUSLIN BRODY settled three back on the markers, moved to the outside at the 600m and sprinted sharply. He looked to be very impressive in the run to the judge and considering he has a National Rating of 30, he could be able to pick up a race in the near future. WHATS THE TEA settled five back on the inside and finished second with BULLAPARK BENO being third. BULLAPARK BENO settled seventh on the inside, broke stride with 300m remaining and recovered by making a lot of ground in the final 100m.
Mile Rate: - 2.6.4 Last Half: - 61.2 Margins: - 35m, 4m
Trial 7: - DISTRICT ATTORNEY settled four back on the inside, moved into the one out and one back trail at the 300m, came out three horses wide on the home turn and ran home strongly to win with ease. He hasn’t started since being unplaced in a heat of the Victoria Derby but he appeared to be very sharp in the run to the finish. THE EGG COUNTER settled down five back on the inside, moved away from the markers at the 600m mark and sustained a good run for second. She has performed well in several trials since returning from New South Wales and met a smart one in DISTRICT ATTORNEY so she might be worth following. PAS GUARANTEE worked forward to find the lead at the 1800m and battled on fairly well for third.
Mile Rate: - 2.3.4 Last Half: - 57.5 Margins: - 8m, head
BLACKBOOKER: - The Egg Counter
Trial 9: - SATCHMO STRIKES NZ is a smart horse, which has won three of his past five starts. He settled three back on the inside, was inconvenienced coming up to the home turn and angled out wide in the home straight. He finished fast and was able to draw clear of his rivals to win easily. RINGOS A STAR settled five back on the inside and angled to the death seat at the bell. He hit the front at the 400m mark but couldn’t sustain the run and ended up being second across the line. HESTON CASH settled four back on the inside and came out three horses wide at the quarter pole. He finished third ahead of SURFSUP (trailed leader).
Mile Rate: - 2.2.3 Last Half: - 59.1 Margins: - 7m, 2m
Trial 10: - HURRICANE HALL trailed the leader, angled wide on the home turn and ran home strongly to win impressively. The mile rate was slow but he came from off the speed on the home turn in a fast final quarter of 27.6 seconds. SPORT MENTAL NZ settled four back on the inside, moved into the one out and one back trail at the bell and came out three horses wide at the 300m. He finished second with PRAY TELL being in third position after settling down last of the five runners and moving into the death seat at the bell.
Mile Rate: - 2.6.8 Last Half: - 57.5 Margins: - 4m, 4m
TABCORP PARK, MELTON 06/12/22
Trial 1: - B D YASOTHON NZ is a handy former New Zealander, which had two Australian starts in March then was given a break. He put in a few rough strides shortly after the tapes released but he ended up being three back on the markers and moved through to trail the leader at the 500m mark. He waited for the sprint lane and accelerated nicely to win softly. KYVALLEY SHAUNIE finished second after setting the speed and DONTOUCH THE DUCO was third after trailing the leader and coming to the outside when leaving the back straight on the final occasion. All of the first three trotters across the line appeared to have something in reserve at the finish.
Last Mile: - 2.2.7 Last Half: - 59.2 Margins: - 2.5m, 2m
Trial 2: - JUNGLE ROOM is a Jodi Quinlan trained colt by Vincent, which showed good gate speed, angled in behind the leader and moved to the outside on the home turn. He got home best from WATCH IN HAPPEN, which was able to spear to the lead from a wide draw. The eye-catching performance of the trial came from CALLING BUDDY. He settled four back on the inside, angled onto the back of the winner JUNGLE ROOM then never peeled to the outside at any stage. He went to the line jogging in third position.
Mile Rate: - 2.2.7 Last Half: - 58.11 Margins: - ½ head, 4.5m
BLACKBOOKER: - Calling Buddy
Trial 4: - IM READY JET continued her very good trial form with another dominant display. She sat without cover early, pushed forward to find the lead at the 1600m and was able to finish off in a slick final half, without being pushed. SAMMY SHOWDOWN trailed the leader early before ending up being three back on the markers. He finished second with OLLIVICI doing his best work at the end from last of the four runners to be third across the line.
Mile Rate: - 1.59.5 Last Half: - 57.58 Margins: - 11m, 9m
Trial 7: - TICTOK was stood down to trial after galloping several times in the run at her latest race track appearance but she is very good when she puts it altogether. She pushed forward to find the lead at the 1800m and ran along at a genuine tempo to win her trial by a large margin. TE AMO led out then took cover and chased hard in good time for second. The former New Zealander B K MERLOT NZ settled six back on the markers and was doing her best work at the end to run third. TE AMO can improve on her numerical form at Cranbourne on Monday and B K MERLOT NZ will make her Australian debut in the same race.
Mile Rate: - 2.0.7 Last Half: - 59.94 Margins: - 17m, 48.5m
Trial 8: - VISIONARY was clearly the class runner of the trial and went on to win as expected. She was still very impressive as she went to the line jogging after settling three back on the markers early. ALDEBARAN HUEY led out, took a trail and used the sprint lane to finish second with LA PERRIERE coming from four back on the markers and finishing third. The Andy Gath prepared duo EXALTED and RAKERO BLAZE NZ finished fourth and fifth respectively but both horses performed well. EXALTED is a juvenile trotter and the winner of the trial VISIONARY finished second in the 4yo Mares Breeders Crown Final behind Queen Elida at her latest attempted so it was a good effort to set the speed and only be beaten by 5.5m by that trotter. RAKERO BLAZE NZ missed the start by a large margin, chased hard and did very well in reasonable time to finish with the pack.
Mile Rate: - 2.2.2 Last Half: - 59.71 Margins: - 3.5m, 2m
BLACKBOOKER: - Rakero Blaze NZ
Trial 9: - CATCH A WAVE has won eleven of his fourteen starts and hasn’t raced since finishing seventh in a heat of the Victoria Derby. He settled last of the six runners in the trial, moved into the running lane at the 1200m (1-2) and came out four horses wide on the home turn. He produced a big finish and recorded a slick last quarter of 26.66 seconds so he is obviously somewhere near his peak. HELLUVA NZ was four back on the inside and moved into the one out and one back trail ahead of CATCH A WAVE. He came out three horses wide at the 400m and hit the lead momentarily but couldn’t withstand the challenge of the winner late. ALANZA ran a nice race for third. She led out, took a trail and made so me ground through the middle in a strong trial. Considering she has a National Rating of 57, which was the lowest rating in the trial, she might be worth following.
Mile Rate: - 1.58.1 Last Half: - 56.07 Margins: - 4m, 4m
Trial 10: - OUR LADY LARA produced a very good finishing burst to take out the final event. She was seventh on the markers early, moved into the running lane (1-2 at 800m) and moved out four horses wide on the final corner. She must be considered as a winning chance despite the wide draw at Cranbourne on Monday. BALENCIAGO gained a one out and one back trail from the 800m and moved to the outside on the home turn. He finished second with HEAVENLY BRIGADE NZ coming from last to pick up an eye-catching third.
Mile Rate: - 2.0.6 Last Half: - 56.50 Margins: - 1.5m, 7.5m
BLACKBOOKER: - Our Lady Lara
