A quality trial performance at Maryborough on the weekend has Craig Rail expecting that Paris Abbie “should prove very hard to beat” when she lines up in the seventh event at Mildura this afternoon.
The Sam Barker-trained mare is one of four Blackbook entries for Rail, joining Well Said Nugget, G B Brave and Venus on the list of horses to follow.
Check out the updated Blackbook at the bottom of this week’s trial report.
TRIAL REPORT
BACCHUS MARSH 11/05/24
Trial 1: – CHIEF JUJON is a former Queensland pacer, which disappointed at his Victorian debut and was stood down to trial. He was able to re-qualify with an emphatic victory in reasonable time. He is backing up at Geelong this evening and is capable of improving on his first up performance. MIKIS JOE hasn’t raced since January 2023 and was second across the line, finishing well ahead of CINCINNATI and CLARENDEN VICTORY. CLARENDEN VICTORY is scheduled to compete at Terang on Tuesday night.
Mile Rate: – 2.2.9 Last Half: – 58.8 Margins: – 12m, 15m
Trial 4: – SHOTINTHEDARK is an unraced juvenile pacer for trainer Tim McGuigan. He made it a hat trick of victories at the trials with a win over RIDDLEMETHIS, which is an unraced gelding by Tell All. Another unraced gelding in MIGHTY BLING was a close up third. SHOTINTHEDARK is making his debut at Geelong this evening, where he is coming up against proven winners and it will be interesting to see how he measures up.
Mile Rate: – 2.7.9 Last Half: – 61.1 Margins: – 6m, Head
Trial 6: – BART BENTLEY has been unplaced at his past three attempts but he was a winner at Charlton back in December and would have gained some confidence with his trial win. He is competing at Cranbourne on Sunday night and appears to be a winning chance. HERESHECOMESSASSY is now being prepared by Tim McGuigan and made her debut for the stable at Melton last night, where she finished fourth behind Love Ina Chevy. She finished second in the trial with HEYGOYOUGOODTHING NZ being in a distant third. ALDEBARAN ZEUS had his last start in Victoria back in April 2023. He went to New Zealand then travelled across to America and has returned to trainer Brent Lilley. He was fourth across the line with CHARISMA KING being the last horse to greet the judge.
Mile Rate: – 2.4.0 Last Half: – 60.1 Margins: – 2m, 15m
Trial 7: – SILENT REVERIE has been freshened since galloping away and finishing unplaced in March. She was able to win the trial by a narrow margin over LAIR OF THE EAGLE, which was stood down to trial after finishing unplaced at his latest performance at Ballarat. LAIR OF THE EAGLE was able to re-qualify and went back to the races at Melton last night but he unfortunately missed away from the standing start. MAGIC LAW finished in third position and followed with a second at Bendigo on Tuesday night.
Mile Rate: – 2.4.6 Last Half: – 61.8 Margins: – Head, 2m
MARYBOROUGH 12/05/24
Trial 1: – ULTIMATE VINNIE led out before taking cover at the 1600m mark and worked around to find the lead again just after the bell. He was clearly the class runner of the trial and went to the line untouched to win comfortably. He is backing up in the open class event at Melton tomorrow night, where he is taking on a strong field. VALIENTE settled four back on the markers and finished off well via an inside run to snare second. He has recently joined trainer Ben Pell and is scheduled to compete at Geelong this evening. OUR STORM GIRL progressed forward to find the lead in the early stages then took cover at the 900m mark. She battled on well for third with TALLARAS SHADOW being fourth across the line.
Mile Rate: – 2.1.2 Last Half: – 57.0 Margins: 6m, Neck
Trial 3: – HY FILANTE began well and was able to get into the trail behind the leader. He came away from the inside at the quarter pole and was strong at the finish, getting the prize by a comfortable margin. WELL SAID NUGGET settled five back on the inside, came out very wide on the home turn and finished fast for an eye-catching second. MALAVA MISS settled four back on the inside, came out three horses wide on the home turn and finished off quite well for third. She is backing up at Echuca on Monday afternoon.
Mile Rate: – 2.0.6 Last Half: – 59.0 Margins: – 10m, 6m
BLACKBOOKER: – Well Said Nugget
Trial 4: – PARIS ABBIE began quickly to lead and finished off in sizzling final fractions to win easily. She is competing at Mildura this afternoon and should prove very hard to beat on that trial performance. HESITATE settled three back on the inside, moved away from the markers at the 600m and battled on well for second place. PETE MITCHELL was third across the line after trailing the leader throughout.
Mile Rate: – 2.3.9 Last Half: – 55.4 Margins: – 8m, 15m
BLACKBOOKER: – Paris Abbie
Trial 7: – JAZSPUR has been racing in sparkling form and kept the momentum rolling with a trial success. He jumped to the front from the standing start and finished off in slick final sectionals to gain the prize. GAELIC LAD settled last of the trio, moved to the outside at the 600m and tried hard for second with LUVSKI being last of the three runners across the line. JAZSPUR is competing at Melton tomorrow night, GAELIC LAD is in at Geelong tonight and LUVSKI is racing at Terang on Tuesday night.
Mile Rate: – 2.3.6 Last Half: – 57.6 Margins: – 12m, 6m
ARARAT 12/05/24
Trial 1: BALTIC SPIRIT NZ was the class runner of the trial and has able to win the event by a good margin. He will be having a busy week as he backed up with a fourth behind Roi Du Soleil at Melton on Thursday and will also be competing at Terang on Tuesday night. DOOR SLAMMER is an unraced 3yo trotter by Centurion for trainer Ricky Ryan. He finished in second position with MAXIMEZ being third across the line.
Mile Rate: – 2.9.4 Last Quarter: – 30.7 Margins: – 7m, 9m
MELTON ENTERTAINMENT PARK 14/05/24
Trial 1: – HITTHEROADJACK NZ settled four back on the inside, moved into the one out and one back trail then came out three horses wide at the 150m mark. He ran home well to win over HEAVENLY BRIGADE NZ, which settled three back on the markers and sprinted quickly via the passing lane. HEY GOYOUGOODTHING NZ trailed the leader and finished a close up third after his placed effort at the Bacchus March trials several days earlier.
Mile Rate: – 2.1.4 Last Half: – 58.06 Margins: – ½ neck, short ½ head
Trial 3: – G B BRAVE NZ is an unraced New Zealand bred juvenile pacer, which is being prepared by trainer Chris Svanosio. He settled down last of the three runners, trailed the leader from the bell and finished off best in a slick final half. He is making his debut at Echuca on Monday. FIFTY SEVEN CHEVY was behind the leader early and found the front when the early leader DAVOLAS LEGACY NZ broke stride at bell. He battled on well for second and DAVOLAS LEGACY NZ was a long distance away in last position.
Mile Rate: – 2.1.2 Last Half: – 56.55 Margins: – 1.5m, 52.5m
BLACKBOOKER: – G B Brave NZ
Trial 4: – IMPERIAL WHIZ NZ settled four back on the inside, moved into the one out and one back trail at the 600m and came to the outside at the 150m mark. He finished off best to win on the line and will be backing up at Cranbourne on Sunday. BELLE NEIGE continued her good trial form with a narrow second. She settled three back on the markers, moved to the outside at the 600m and quickly hit the front before being run down on the line. EASY PICKINGS NZ settled five back on the inside and made ground in the last quarter to fill third position.
Mile Rate: – 2.3.4 Last Half: – 58.5 Margins: – ½ head, 14.5m
Trial 7: – ROUGE QUEEN is an unraced mare, which had a few trials in Queensland prior to heading to trainer Chris Svanosio. She was able to lead throughout and scored with something in reserve. VENUS NZ is an unraced mare from New Zealand by Majestic Son, which created a good impression to finish second. She settled four back on the inside and used the sprint lane before finishing very quickly albeit racing roughly at the end. FLING IT RAINBOW finished in third position after trailing the leader and coming to the outside at the quarter pole.
Mile Rate: – 2.4.1 Last Half: – 59.19 Margins: – 2.5m, 2m
BLACKBOOKERS: – Venus NZ
