A new mare to the Courtney Slater barn looks one to keep an eye on, according to Harness Racing Victoria form analyst Craig Rail.
Rail spied Sammys Our Girl at the Ararat trials early this week and found the former Michael Cole-trained pacer worthy of a place on his list of horses to follow.
“She recorded slick time and scored by a large margin,” Rail noted.
“She has a very low National Rating of 44 so she might be worth following in the near future.”
Sammys Our Girl was joined as a new addition to Rail’s Blackbook by the Joe Pace-trained Terror Eyes and Julie Douglas-prepared Major Collect.
TRIAL REPORT
Trial 1: - SEBASTIANS BOY prepared for his Breeders Crown effort at Bendigo tonight with a big performance to score over the pacers. He shot to the lead in the early stages, ran along at a genuine tempo and never looked like being beaten at any stage. He is meeting a strong field tonight but he has never raced better. TANGOINGWITHSIERRA was also preparing for her first up performance at Bendigo tonight and finished in second. She settled five back on the markers, moved into the one out and one back trail at the 500m and was held up for a run at a vital stage before finishing fast. THE OCEAN SPIRIT NZ settled three back on the markers, pulled hard and moved into the death seat at the 500m before battling into a distant third. He possesses high speed when he gains the right trail forward and is backing up at Cobram this afternoon.
Mile Rate: - 1.58.9 Last Half: - 56.8 Margins: - 6m, 10m
Trial 2: - BET ON ACES led out then took cover at the 1200m and came to the outside on the home turn. He finished off best to claim victory on the line. KIMCANDO has performed nicely at the trials leading up to her debut performance at Cranbourne on Sunday. She gained a one out and one back trail, came out three horses wide at the 1300m, sprinted quickly to find the lead and kicked on well in the run to the finish. ADIEU MCKINNIS trailed the leader early and ended up being three back on the markers before battling into a distant third.
Mile Rate: - 2.2.1 Last Half: - 58.0 Margins: - ½ Head, 15m
Trial 5: - BODYBUILDER began quickly to find the lead, set up an even tempo and was able to hold off his rivals to win the trial. SILVER SPOON trailed the leader and came away from the inside at the 300m. She chased hard and finished a close up second. SUZYS DREAM settled three back on the markers, moved through to trail the leader on the home turn and battled on fairly well for third position. SILVER SPOON and SUZYS DREAM both backed up at Kilmore on Thursday night, where they finished sixth and eighth respectively in the race won by Maoris Return.
Mile Rate: - 2.2.8 Last Half: - 61.1 Margins: - Head, 8m
BACCHUS MARSH 11/11/23
Trial 1: - THESTATESMAN is a quality juvenile pacer, which was runner up in the Shakamaker Classic at the beginning of the season. He hasn’t raced since a Shepparton victory in July but was able to gain some fitness and confidence with a trial victory over KHANS CREED and MIYAGI BOY. KHANS CREED is backing up at Cranbourne on Sunday afternoon, where he should run his usual honest race.
Mile Rate: - 2.4.3 Last Half: - 59.0 Margins: - 3m, 8m
Trial 2: - JOSHUA RICHARD NZ is competing at Cranbourne on Sunday afternoon but has drawn poorly on the outside of the second line. He has been racing well but without luck and was able to win his trial quite nicely over the handy type IMA TERMINATOR, which has been impressive in his two starts to date. IMA TERMINATOR has been thrown into the deep end in a strong Breeders Crown event at Melton tomorrow night. SEE YOU THERE finished in third position and didn’t have much luck after commencing from the inside of the second line at Geelong on Wednesday night.
Mile Rate: - 2.6.2 Last Half: - 60.4 Margins: - 2m, 5m
Trial 4: - NUCLEAR ATTITUDE was stood down to trial for galloping at her latest attempt and was able to qualify with a trial victory over BALLIANGUS. She is back to the races again at Cobram this afternoon. BALLIANGUS backed up at Kilmore on Thursday night and finished in fourth position in the race won by Maoris Return. SHE IS MY RIPPER was third across the line.
Mile Rate: - 2.9.4 Last Half: - 61.5 Margins: - 6m, 15m
Trial 7: - JEREMY LOU was stood down to trial and for an ECG at his latest attempt. He was able to bounce back with a comfortable trial victory over SEA SILK in reasonable time. BETTING ON COURAGE finished in third position and is backing up at Cranbourne on Sunday, where he is awkwardly drawn.
Mile Rate: - 2.2.9 Last Half: - 59.3 Margins: - 8m, 4m
MARYBOROUGH 12/11/23
Trial 1: - DAYLIGHT AT DAWN started what could be a busy ten days with an all of the way victory in the opening trial. He is meeting much harder opposition at Bendigo tonight but is backing up again at Mildura on Tuesday evening. RABADA has been performing well at the trials and did a good job when resuming so he should be able to win a race in the near future. JAMES IN CHARGE settled four back on the markers behind RABADA, came out three horses wide on the home turn and worked home reasonably well for third.
Mile Rate: - 1.59.7 Last Half: - 55.2 Margins: - 12m, 1m
Trial 5: - RENEGADE OUTLAW settled three back on the markers, moved to the outside at the 500m and finished off best to win by a narrow margin. MY BUCKS NIGHT attempted to lead throughout and was beaten right on the line. He is backing up in a semi-final of the Breeders Crown at Melton tomorrow night. WELEASE WOGER settled behind the leader and finished close up in third position.
Mile Rate: - 2.4.2 Last Half: - 58.9 Margins: - ½ head, 1m
BENDIGO 13/11/23
Trial 5: - VINCENT GRANGE raced without cover in the early stages before pushing forward to find the shortly after the start. He dashed home in reasonably quick sectional times and scored comfortably. He has ability and is making his debut at Mildura on Tuesday night. HESAA LISTER settled three back on the markers before moving into the death seat with 600m remaining. He battled on well for second with RUMPELSTILTSKIN being a distant third after trailing the leader throughout.
Mile Rate: - 2.3.9 Last Half: - 58.8 Margins: - 3m, 12m
Trial 6: - OZZIE JOY prepared for her first up performance at Bendigo tonight with an effortless trial victory. She was five back on the inside, moved into the one out and one back trail at the bell and came out three horses wide from the 300m mark. She is meeting a much harder field this evening but she would have gained some confidence from her trial success. HELLO BRUCE raced without cover early, pulled hard and dropped onto the markers to be three back. He moved up without cover again at the bell and battled on well for second. KYLOAN QUEEN settled six back on the markers, moved into the running lane (1-2) and finished a distant third.
Mile Rate: - 2.1.5 Last Half: - 58.0 Margins: - 8m, 4m
Trial 7: - ANDOVER SUN began brilliantly to find the lead and was able to hold off his rivals in the run to the judge. He is competing at Bendigo tonight and has the early speed to find a forward position at the start. QUAKE PROOF trailed the leader, used the sprint lane and finished quickly for a close second. BROOKIES BABE finished in third after settling three back on the inside and backed up with a fourth placed performance at Kilmore on Thursday night. PERFECT PEAK moved up without cover from four back on the markers at the 700m and battled into fourth spot. He is backing up at Cranbourne on Sunday.
Mile Rate: - 2.4.8 Last Half: - 59.4 Margins: - 1m, 8m
Trial 8: - IDEAL ESCAPE galloped away at Melton on Saturday night and went back to the trials. He is meeting a tough field from the outside of the second line tonight at Bendigo but his trial form on the track is very strong. He won the last trial after settling four back on the markers and moving into the death seat at the bell. HERESHESCOMESSASSY also went back to the trials after galloping away at her previous attempt. She attempted to lead throughout and finished in second position before backing up at Charlton on Thursday, where she endured a tough run and did well to finish in fourth. MAJOR COLLECT NZ settled last of the five runners, followed behind his stable mate IDEAL ESCAPE and never peeled to the outside at any stage, going to the line with plenty in reserve. GOTTAHAVEAHOBBIE settled three back on the markers and finished in fourth. He is favourably drawn at Cranbourne on Sunday.
Mile Rate: - 2.1.8 Last Half: - 56.5 Margins: - 2m, 3m
BLACKBOOKER: - Major Collect NZ
ARARAT 13/11/23
Trial 1: - SAMMYS OUR GIRL is resuming since June and joins trainer Courtney Slater after previously being with Michael Cole. She recorded slick time and scored by a large margin. She has a very low National Rating of 44 so she might be worth following in the near future. THATSNICE is an unraced gelding by Goodtime Sammy, which is also prepared by Courtney Slater. He finished a distant second with QUARTZITE being third across the line.
Mile Rate: - 2.0.1 Last Half: - 60.6 Margins: - 30m, 12m
BLACKBOOKER: - Sammys Our Girl
MELTON 14/11/23
Trial 2: - SOHO THE REAL DEAL is a rising 2yo (listed as a yearling) by Soho Tribeca out of the race winning mare Soho Gloria Jane. He led and was pressured throughout so he delivered a top performance to beat the older horses, breaking the 2.0.0 barrier in the process. HARRO HILL was five back on the inside, moved into a one out and one back trail at the bell and loomed up to win but couldn’t get past SOHO THE REAL DEAL in the straight. MIDNIGHT MOJO finished third after being in various positions (1-1, fifth pegs, 1-2 700m, 1-1 400m).
Mile Rate: - 1.59.2 Last Half: - 59.44 Margins: - ½ head, 2m
Trial 4: - HURRIKANE FRANCO continues to perform nicely at the trials and dashed home in fast final sectionals in his victory over MY ATLANTIS. He trailed the leader early, ended up being three back on the markers at the 1500m and moved into the one out and one back trail half way down the back straight before sprinting quickly. MY ATLANTIS finished off well after settling four back on the markers and beat the remainder of the field by a large margin so it was a good performance from the unraced gelding by Four Starzzz Shark. BLACK TUXEDO finished third after leading out then taking cover and racing fiercely throughout the middle stages.
Mile Rate: - 1.59.9 Last Half: - 57.32 Margins: - 5m, 12.5m
Trial 6: - The first four horses across the line all performed very well so this trial might turn out to be a good form reference. TERROR EYES NZ began quickly to lead, copped plenty of pressure mid-race and was still strong at the finish. KEAYANG WASABI was five and six back on the markers mid-race, moved up without cover at the 700m and sustained a strong run to finish in second. EXOTIC BUSHRANGER dropped back to sixth early, charged around the field from the 1700m and pressured the leader but couldn’t get across to the markers then angled in for a trail at the 1100m. He battled on very strongly for third with KEAYANG CRIPPA coming from last to finish in fourth position.
Mile Rate: - 1.59.0 Last Half: - 57.53 Margins: - 5m, 3m
BLACKBOOKER: - Terror Eyes NZ
Trial 7: - JILLIBY KUNG FU hasn’t raced since March and has produced several promising youngsters with several of his progeny hitting the track this season. He continues his extensive trial campaign leading up to his racetrack return and was able to lead throughout to win very easily, dashing home in a slick final quarter of 27.34 seconds. RAINBOWSEND was second after trailing the leader and LENARD ESS was last of the three runners throughout.
Mile Rate: - 1.58.3 Last Half: - 55.56 Margins: - 36.5m, 34m
