Harness Racing form guru has added Ozzie Rocker to his file this week after an eye-catching trial performance at Bendigo.
“Ozzie Rocker won the opening trial for the juvenile pacers and was very impressive after trailing the leader and sprinting quickly from the 600m mark.”
Rail also added Usyk to his file this week.
TRIAL REPORT 300
SHEPPARTON 16/01/25
Trial 1: – SKINNYDIP NZ has joined trainer Tayla Nicholson since his latest unplaced performance at Melton on December 14. He settled down three back on the markers, moved out three horses wide approaching the home turn and sprinted home best to claim the prize. THE BROOKLYN BRAWLER NZ finished in second after attempting to lead all of the way and CARLY MORGAN (trailed leader) was third after going quickly down the back straight to pressure the leader and peaking late.
Mile Rate: – 2.0.4 Last Half: – 58.0 Margins: – 1.5m, 8m
Trial 2: – WELL THAT’S ALRIGHT began smartly and landed the trail behind the leader. He came to the outside with 150m remaining and finished off best to land the prize. He is in for a busy week considering he has been nominated for Wedderburn on Sunday and again on Shepparton on Tuesday night. FOUR STAR SAINT finished in second position after trying to lead throughout and will also be backing up at Shepparton on Tuesday night. FELLINI settled down last of the six runners, moved into the one out and one back trail approaching the home turn and worked home fairly well for third.
Mile Rate: – 2.1.5 Last Half: – 60.1 Margins: – 1m, 3m
Trial 3: – USYK is a colt by Ultimate Sniper for trainer David Jack and posted handy time in his trial victory over VIEW THE ART. He began well to trail the leader, came to the outside with 500m remaining and was just able to get the better of VIEW THE ART, which pulled hard in the leading role, over the concluding stages. MIGHTY MINNIE settled three back on the markers and remained in third position as the field crossed the line.
Mile Rate: – 2.1.8 Last Half: – 57.3 Margins: – 1m, 20m
BLACKBOOKER: – Usyk
Trial 4: – JACKS ULTIMATE FURY NZ settled down last of the five runners and commenced his winning run with 500m remaining. He finished off solidly to win well. MISTER THREEOFIVE finished a close up second after setting up a slow tempo and SPIRIT OF SAHARA finished in third after racing without cover early and restraining to be three back on the inside. SPIRIT OF SAHARA will be backing up at Shepparton on Tuesday night.
Mile Rate: – 2.5.0 Last Half: 58.8 Margins: 1.5m, 3m
MARYBOROUGH 19/01/25
Trial 1: TACT MCLEOD NZ progressed forward to find the lead, enjoyed a nice run mid-race and had a good kick left in the run to the finish. He scored untouched and recorded a slick final half of 56.8 seconds, which gave him a lot of confidence leading into his effort against the champion pacer Leap To Fame in the Casey Classic on Saturday night. SWEETNIKKILOU settled last of the four runners, moved up without cover at the 500m and sustained a strong run to finish in second position. She is also competing at Melton tomorrow night. NEATNTIDY was three back on the markers and was able to get past TICT TACT (trailed leader) in the battle for third and fourth and both horses are nominated to go around at the Stawell trials this afternoon.
Mile Rate: – 2.1.2 Last Half: – 56.8 Margins: – 5m, 6m (approximately)
Trial 2: – ADMIRALOFTHEFLEET is a pacer and was taking on the trotters. He recently joined trainer Wayne Ronan and was able to finish off in a slick final half of 57.5 seconds from behind the leader to win with ease. BULLAPARK BENO settled four back on the markers, came to the outside on the home turn and finished off well without being fully extended to snare second. He is engaged at Shepparton on Tuesday night. The early leader LOVE WHO finished in third ahead of COURAGES LAW (3 back markers).
Mile Rate: – 2.3.8 Last Half: – 57.5 Margins: – 12m, 8m
Trial 4: – DANCIN WITH LUSH began very quickly to find the lead in the early stages, ran along at an even tempo and was able to hold on in the run to the finish. She is backing up at Cranbourne on Sunday night. WICHITA DANCE sat in the trail throughout and finished off well to go down by only a slender margin. OUR ULTIMATE WILMA settled four back on the inside, moved into the death seat at the 400m mark and worked into a distant third.
Mile Rate: – 2.0.5 Last Half: – 57.1 Margins: – Head, 20m
KYABRAM 19/01/25
Trial 1: – SKINNY HORACE hasn’t raced since November 2023 but the son of Lanercost was able to take out the trial from CORAL CAYS, which is an unraced filly by Bling It On for trainer John Newberry. SHES GOING PLACES finished third across the line with the trotter LIZZIES SON being last of the four runners across the line. LIZZIES SON backed up to finish fifth at Kilmore on Thursday night and will be racing again at Shepparton on Tuesday night.
Mile Rate: – 2.6.0 Last Half: – 62.8 Margins: – 1m, 10m
BENDIGO 20/01/25
Trial 1: – OZZIE ROCKER won the opening trial for the juvenile pacers and was very impressive after trailing the leader and sprinting quickly from the 600m mark. He is a colt by Rock N Roll Heaven out of the handy mare Courtney John. LOOK AT HER is a filly by Ride High out of Red Hot Roxy for trainer Peter Salathiel. She settled three back on the inside and came away from the markers with 150m remaining to pick up second position. COBARGO MILLY was the third horse across the line after showing good gate speed to find the lead.
Mile Rate: – 2.3.1 Last Half: – 58.1 Margins: – 30m, 5m
BLACKBOOKER: – Ozzie Rocker
Trial 3: – OWEN THE SAINTS settled five back on the markers, moved away from the inside at the 800m mark and progressed forward in the back straight. He switched to the markers approaching the home turn and finished off well via the sprint lane to get the prize. He will be backing up at Shepparton on Tuesday night. LUVN OSMAN finished second and appeared to have something in reserve at the finish. He settled down last of the six runners, moved into the one out and one back trail behind OWEN THE SAINTS and worked home nicely at the end. He is also backing up at Shepparton on Tuesday night. KING SAINT was the third horse across the line after setting the speed. He backed up at Kilmore on Thursday night and failed to beat a runner to the line.
Mile Rate: – 2.0.7 Last Half: – 58.6 Margins: – 4m, 1m
Trial 6: – MAJOR MANBAR began very awkwardly from the pole position at his latest race track appearance and went back to the trials. He began fast from a wide draw and rolled to the top shortly after the start before holding his rivals safely at bay so he delivered a much better performance. ARNIES ARMY NZ finished in second after trailing the leader and coming to the outside on the home turn. He backed up at Kilmore on Thursday night. ILLUSTRIOUS NZ settled four back on the markers, waited for the sprint lane and finished stoutly for a handy third. He is backing up quickly at Wedderburn on Sunday afternoon.
Mile Rate: – Unavailable Last Half: – Unavailable Margins: – Unavailable
GEELONG 20/01/25
Trial 1: – CAPTAIN BELLASARIO settled three back on the inside, moved off the markers at the 1600m and worked to the front at the 1400m. He sprinted home well over the concluding stages and was too good for his rivals, winning clearly. COLLECTIVE WORKS finished second after leading out then taking cover. EASY ROLLING trailed the leader early then was shuffled to last of the three runners and remained at the back of the pack for the remainder of the journey. EASY ROLLING will be backing up at Cranbourne on Sunday.
Mile Rate: – 1.57.2 Last Half: – 56.3 Margins: – 8m, 20m
Trial 3: – MCGEE dropped back to be last of the seven runners, moved up without cover from the 800m mark and sustained a long run to win nicely. ITS TRIXTON TIME NZ raced without cover early, restrained to be third on the markers from the 1700m and moved into the one out and one back trail from the 500m. He finished off well for second with KHOTA BHARU being in third after trailing the leader and using the sprint lane. RED KERMIT finished in fourth position after attempting to lead throughout.
Mile Rate: – 2.5.6 Last Half: – 61.5 Margins: – 1m, 1.5m
Trial 4: – BARNY BILL began smartly and ran to the lead shortly after the start. He dashed to a clear lead in the back straight before peaking in the final 100m. He was able to establish a big enough lead to hold on and win. JUST PEDRO settled four back on the markers, moved to the outside at the 500m and finished well to go down by a narrow margin. SOMETUFFLUV finished in third position after settling last of the five runners and moving into the one out and one back trail with 500m remaining.
Mile Rate: – 2.1.8 Last Half: – 58.4 Margins: – Head, 5m
TERANG 21/01/25
Trial 1: – KEAYANG PAYTON settled five back on the markers and ran home strongly through the middle to get up and win on the line. KEAYANG GALLIANO settled last of the six runners, came out three horses wide on the home turn and was forced wide when JILLIBY RYDER broke stride. He finished off nicely and did well to pick up second position. NIKITA JO began quickly to find the lead and was run down over the final stages. She finished in third ahead of THE DEVIL ROLLS ON (3 back markers). JILLIBY RYDER was the last horse across the line but he trailed the leader, moved up to join the leader on the home turn and was going to be very competitive before he broke stride.
Mile Rate: – 2.5.8 Last Half: – 59.6 Margins: – 1m, 1m
MILDURA 22/01/25
Trial 1: – NOBLE TRICK has joined trainer Boris Devcic since his latest Mildura victory when under the care of trainer Ian Watson. He was able to win the opening trial by a large margin. LINA AND MOLLY finished in second position and was just ahead of RIMU VALLEY NZ and LE SPARTACUS.
Mile Rate: – 2.5.7 Last Half: – 58.4 Margins: – 15m, head
Trial 2: – LOSEASHOE completed a double for the Boris Devcic stable with a runaway victory in the second event. He hasn’t raced since being unplaced in November. OUR BIG DRAMAQUEEN finished in second position ahead of RED HOT MIKI, which had two unplaced runs for trainer Paul Males in February 2024 and has now joined Sandra O’Connor.
Mile Rate: – 2.2.3 Last Half: – 59.0 Margins: – 12m, 1m
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