Five more have gone into my trials Black Book after Park Life, Holstein, Blue Corman, Ajay Breezy Rose and Nota Replica all produced eye-catchers during the week.
As usual my full list of Black Book horses to follow can be found beneath the report.
SHEPPARTON 10/10/19
Trial 1: - PARK LIFE has been sparingly raced since taking out the 2016 Australian Pacing Gold Final but she looked pretty good in her trial performance. She settled three back on the markers, raced keenly and got into the clear at the 700m mark. She hit the front in the straight and scored with something in reserve. MONASH attempted to lead throughout but had to be content with second and MRS BROWNS BOY, which raced one out and one back then eased to allow PARK LIFE to get a run, worked home well into third position. ROCKON LOCKSLEY had no clear run at the finish after trailing the leader throughout and SAMMARI dropped out to run a distant last after racing in the death seat.
Mile Rate: - 2.1.7 Final Half: - 59.2 Margins: - 1m, head
BLACKBOOKER: - Park Life
Trial 2: - The four runners all stepped away safely from the standing start with KALARNEY HEIDI leading from GOLDEN SPURS, MAJESTIC ACTION and DANCES. The field raced in single file for the journey with DANCES dropping off the pack and galloping momentarily coming up to the bell. GOLDEN SPURS came to the outside turning for home and proved to be superior from KALARNEY HEIDI with MAJESTIC ACTION not really asked to do much, lobbing along in third position.
Mile Rate: - 2.6.8 Final Half: - 59.8 Margins: - 4m, 20m
Trial 3: - HOLSTEIN (Major Bronski – Havilah Mistress) is a skewbald pacer, which performed particularly well. He settled down fifth but got a long way out of his ground when both PEDRO (3 back markers) and ONE OF MY PEOPLE (4 back markers) couldn’t keep up with 1200m remaining. He did a lot of chasing in the final circuit but was still able to dash away and win clearly in smart time. IM JOLLYGOOD set up the genuine tempo and finished second ahead of LOUISIANA JO (Roll With Joe – Western Jazz), which tried to follow behind HOLSTEIN in the final circuit. JOONIOR BROWN came from last to pick up fourth. THE DRUMMER BOY trailed the leader but yielded ground from the 300m with PEDRO and ONE OF MY PEOPLE being the last two runners to greet the judge.
Mile Rate: - 1.58.8 Final Half: - 61.5 Margins: - 5m, 7m
BLACKBOOKER: - Holstein
Trial 4: - GAP YEAR was an impressive winner after he shot to the lead in the early stages and pulled extremely hard throughout. He established a good lead in the middle stages and the field caught him in the back straight before he drew clear again at the finish. CUSTODIAN settled in last position and was slightly inconvenienced when both OHNO COMMANDO (3 back pegs) and PETITE SPRINGFIELD (5 back pegs) galloped with 1200m remaining. He picked up ground into third in the back straight and slotted in behind BLACK CAT CLAW, which trailed the leader, before coming to the outside again in the straight. He also trialled nicely to run into second without being fully extended. BLACK CAT CLAW finished third in front of the nicely bred trotter RIGHT MOVES (The Best Madrik – Right Interest 1.59.7, $202,096), which was four back on the markers for the majority of the trial. OHNO COMMANDO was a good margin away and PETITE SPRINGFIELD was retired.
Mile Rate: - 2.4.2 Final Half: - 61.5 Margins: - 6m, 8m
Trial 5: - FRANKIE restrained to be five back on the markers before moving away from the inside at the 600m mark. He was planted out three horses wide on the home turn but he finished best to win the trial. CRACKED PEPPER showed good gate speed to lead from a wide alley and set up a moderate tempo. He held down second in front of FLAMIN STEEL, which settled down three back on the markers and obtained an inside run via the sprint lane. AJAYS RACER (P B Bullville – Globes Mistake 2.3.2, $67,450) began well and trailed the leader before coming to the outside on the home turn. He finished fourth ahead of DIVINE DIVA, which was given a quiet trial. She settled down last and raced keenly. She never left the markers and ran up behind the leaders under a strong hold so she should have just about won the event. SASSCILIAN (Maffioso – Sass And Bling) was four back on the markers throughout and finished in front of MISS CRACKER (Cracker Black – Cosmic Major), which couldn’t find a position early and eased back to be second last on the inside.
Mile Rate: - 2.5.0 Final Half: - 59.8 Margins: - Neck, 1m
BACCHUS MARSH 12/10/19
Trial 1: - MADENA SKY did well in winning four trotting races last season. She hasn’t started since April but she was able to dead-head for first with the pacer JEMSTONE GLORY in her comeback trial performance. MISS OPIE only had one start at her initial campaign of racing in May and she finished third ahead of the local trotter ARU AND ME.
Mile Rate: - 2.12.5 Final Half: - 61.6 Margins: - Dead Heat, 15m
Trial 2: - LORIMERKYLIE hasn’t raced since July but the Ashley Taylor trained mare was able to take out Trial two ahead of the eight times winning pacer UNION FORCE. KARMA ALL THE WAY (Major Bronski – Miss With Attitude) an unraced gelding for trainer Chris Romanidis finished third in front of another qualifier in FRANKING CREDIT (Western Terror – Let’s Go Baby 2.0.5, $26,833).
Mile Rate: - 2.6.2 Final Half: - 61.6 Margins: - 2m, ½ head
Trial 3: - SUMMERTIME struggled to find her best form in the latter stages of last season but she took out the Allied Express 2yo Classic in February. She recorded slow time at her trial victory but she did win by a comfortable margin, which should build her confidence. SHESASTANDOUT finished second in front of BRONSKI MOMENT, which has trialled regularly in recent times. BLISSFULL SPANKER was fourth ahead of the unraced colt MISTER GLEE (Mr Feelgood – Love You More)
Mile Rate: - 2.11.8 Final Half: - 59.9 Margins: - 6m, 8m
Trial 4: - HARRYS FLIGHT possesses a good turn of speed and he put in some eye-catching performances when he was last in work. He hasn’t started since July but he won the last trial from ZALTA, which has been going reasonably well at the trials but has been unplaced in all of his eight starts since coming from Queensland. SUPALINER also came down to Victoria from the Sunshine State (he did start his career in Victoria) and finished unplaced at his first few attempts. He hasn’t started since last year but at his best he has a good finishing burst. He finished third ahead of WONDERFORCE.
Mile Rate: - 2.8.8 Final Half: - 59.3 Margins: - Not Given
STAWELL 13/10/19
Trial 1: - JILLIBY GILMORE (A Rocknroll Dance – Jilliby Pleasure 2.2.8, $3,621) is the first foal out of the race winning mare Jilliby Pleasure and he took out the trial from NOWHERE CREEK, which hasn’t started since July. GLENAVRIL KING finished in third position in front of the unraced colt ROLLINJACKSRAINBOW (Roll With Joe – My Pacific Rainbow 2.0.0, $24,803), which stems from a family that had great success in Queensland around the turn of the century. The talented 3yo trotter DUBLIN CHUBB finished last of the five runners.
Mile Rate: - 2.5.9 Final Half: - 59.59 Margins: - 2m, 2.75m
MOOROOPNA 13/10/19
Trial 1: - KALARNEY HEIDI backed up her trial second behind Golden Spurs at Shepparton a few nights earlier with a victory over SOPHIES YANK. She was placed at her only start back in November and she should be getting fitter. SOPHIES YANK hasn’t raced since August and wasn’t far from the winner on the line.
Mile Rate: - 2.13.1 Final Half: - 62.4 Margin: 1.5m
Trial 2: - DESPONDENT hasn’t raced since July but he did win a race at Shepparton in May and he defeated the in-form pacer SHOSHONE BRAVE. The unraced qualifier FIRST ADVENTURE (Mr Feelgood – Rock Me Gently) faced two tough opponents at his first trial and finished at the tail of the field.
Mile Rate: - Not Given Final Half: - Not Given Margins: - Not Given
MARYBOROUGH 13/10/19
Trial 1: - GOLLAHMAN has been trialling well at Maryborough considering he defeated a subsequent Melton winner in Hashtag at a recent victory and he continued the trend with a last to first win over IM SHADOW BOXER in the opening trial. He did gain a one out and one back trail at the 600m but he finished off with plenty of momentum and without being pushed. IM SHADOW BOXER performed nicely considering he is a NR67 pacer and was taking on proven metropolitan competitors. He trailed the leader and got into the clear with 150m remaining to pick up second. SIXTY settled four back on the markers and moved to the death seat in the back straight on the final occasion. He quickly got the better of the early leader DELWYNS SON but couldn’t repel the late challengers and ended up finishing third. DELWYNS SON was fourth ahead of JACKS COMMAND (3 back markers).
Mile Rate: - 2.0.5 Final Half: - 56.7 Margins: - 5m, 2m
Trial 2: - MAJESTIC ACHIEVER gained a nice trail behind the leader KYVALLEY FRANK and always appeared to be travelling well. He came to the outside turning for home and proved too strong at the finish. FIGHTING WARRIOR was driven with plenty of confidence and finished second. He angled away from fourth on the markers to race without cover but SAMS A YANK (Muscles Yankee – Flash And Flair) moved out in front of him. He then came out three horses wide with 700m remaining and sustained the run to pick up second. SURBITON PRETENDER was third after settling at the rear of the field, moving away from the markers at the 1200m (1-2) and running home well at the finish. KYVALLEY FRANK dropped out to fourth and finished just ahead of SAMS A YANK with SU SU DUSTY (Amore Stride – Rustic Ellen) dropping out after receiving a nice run on the markers.
Mile Rate: - 2.8.8 Final Half: - 63.6 Margins: - 3m, 3m
Trial 3: - INAUGURATE settled last of the five runners and sustained a long run in the back straight on the final occasion to join the leaders. He got to the front in the home straight then had to fight off a quick late bid from LAST WALK. LAST WALK trailed the leader VAPAR JACK and was shuffled back a position further when MELODYS DAUGHTER worked forward from third to find the front with 1500m remaining. He followed VAPAR JACK until peeling out wide late in the trial and finishing on strongly. VAPAR JACK led out, took cover then moved to the death seat at the 750m mark. He got passed MELODYS DAUGHTER before the home turn but couldn’t repel the challengers of VAPAR JACK and LAST WALK. SHADOW TERROR settled four back on the markers and was relegated to last when the moves occurred with a half mile remaining. He finished off quite well out wide on the track and MELODYS DAUGHTER dropped out to the rear of the field.
Mile Rate: - 2.5.0 Final Half: - 59.4 Margins: - Neck, 4m
Trial 4: - DAWNS PEACH settled last of the four runners but took advantage of the antics of HARPER LEE to claim that pacer right on the line and score. The final sectionals were solid so she put in a nice performance to win. HARPER LEE should have won the trial had his manners been better. He settled last before circling around to find the lead at the 1500m mark. He was going to find the front cheaply but wanted to hang out badly and steer well clear of the markers, which meant the early leader JAY JAY SHADY was able to continue hunting through to join him. He finally got the better of JAY JAY SHADY on the home turn before being run down close to the line. ORPHAN CODY (Grinfromeartoear – Can Y Gwent 1.59.8, $21,055) finished at the tail after racing three back on the markers throughout.
Mile Rate: - 2.3.9 Final Half: - 59.3 Margins: - 1m, 10m
Trial 5: - This trial was uncharacteristically run over the sprint distance and VAPAR ROCKS (Pet Rocks – Our Christine Cullen) was able to lead all of the way. ATEGO SHADES trailed VAPAR ROCKS and appeared to be a winning chance with 150m remaining but VAPAR ROCKS was safely able to hold an advantage in the run to the judge. NIGHT PERFORMER settled last and was able to work around NANS SISTER (Julius Caesar – Biddys Star 1.58.6, $32,588), which could never really work onto the back of the horse in front and ended up being last of the four runners.
Mile Rate: - 2.1.8 Final Half: - 59.1 Margins: - Neck, 15m
Trial 6: - ALEPPO MURPHY started off the massive handicap of 80m but was still able to win the trial comfortably. He took some time to catch the leading trio but moved away from the markers at the 700m and sustained the run to win by five lengths. It was a good hit-out for his effort in the Maryborough Trotters Cup on Sunday. CORK led comfortably and was able to steal a good margin on his rivals when SURBITON ARMISTICE galloped twice in the back straight on the first occasion. He still had a good lead with 500m remaining but he became very leg weary late. LOMBO SCRUTINIZER started off the handicap of 50m and finished third ahead of SURBITON ARMISTICE.
Mile Rate: - 2.5.7 Final Half: - 62.6 Margins: - 15m, 4m
BENDIGO 13/10/19
Trial 1: - BLUE COMAN is a former New Zealander for trainer Greg Norman, which bounced straight to the lead from the standing start and was very impressive in scoring. He ran along at a genuine tempo and won by 30m without being pushed at any stage. VINCENT KAI jumped sideways at the start but trotted off the mark and settled three back on the markers. He worked passed FETCH IT, which trailed the leader, before the home turn and finished second some 40m ahead of the remainder of the field. POCKETFULLOFCASH started off the massive handicap of 60m and with the leader running a mile rate of 2.5.6 from the front mark, he would have had to run exceptional time to even get close. He was a distant third ahead of DELS DESTINY (4 back markers), FETCH IT and SPIDERS DEVIL, which started from the handicap of 30m, came in at the rear of the field.
Mile Rate: - 2.5.6 Final Half: - 60.4 Margins: - 30m, 40m
BLACKBOOKER: - Blue Coman
Trial 2: - WHERES WOOD WOOD trailed the leader BELLADONNA GIRL and was able to dash along the sprint lane to victory. WONGA LAKE (Western Terror – Eastern Lookout) settled three back on the markers and moved into the death seat with 600m remaining. He hit the lead on the home turn but couldn’t match the acceleration of WHERES WOOD WOOD in the latter stages. UNION LIZ was four back on the markers and moved into the one out and one back trail behind WONGA LAKE. She was able to work into third in front of BELLADONNA GIRL. RINGER RUSS followed in the running lane (1-2) from the 600m and finished fifth in front of COSTLY MISTAKE (McCardle – Costly Bonus 2.3.8, $4,450), which settled last of the seven competitive chances. DREAM ASSET (6 back markers) was second last and BLAZING MAGIC (Our Sir Vancelot – Miss Snozz) was about 400m away after beginning badly.
Mile Rate: - 2.0.2 Final Half: - 59.2 Margins: - 2m, head
Trial 3: - BANK ON BETTY zipped to the lead in the early stages and was always in control of the trial. She was pretty keen throughout but dashed away in the latter stages to win by a large margin. MAORISHADOW settled three back on the markers and was held up for a run behind JUST OSCAR, which galloped wildly for the final 500m. Once she gained a clear passage, MAORISHADOW worked home okay for second. TIGER FOR LIFE settled four back on the inside and was doing his best work late for third. COMANDANTE struck trouble in the early stages and gave the main division a healthy start. He moved into the death seat once he tacked onto the group so his effort to finish fourth was sound. JUST OSCAR did run fifth over the line but certainly would have been disqualified under race conditions and BLIS VALLEY was last of the six after making an early error.
Mile Rate: - 2.4.3 Final Half: - 59.6 Margins: - 25m, 1m
Trial 4: - NEANGAR GUY speared to the lead shortly after the start and rolled along at a nice tempo. He was unchallenged from start to finish and won the trial comfortably. KIWI KALAHARI (Auckland Reactor – Autumn Princess) ran second after trailing the leader throughout and DRIFFING (Grinfromeartoear – Our Tatiana) followed through from three back on the markers to pick up third. HEZA BRAXTON kept the sequence going from four back on the markers to finish fourth. SHEZA CHOCOLATIER (Art Major – Highview Ember 1.53.3, $122,798) worked into the one out and one back trail from the 1100m mark and finished ahead of THREE SHADOWS (1-2) and ART FINEST dropped out after racing in the death seat throughout.
Mile Rate: - 2.0.2 Final Half: - 57.9 Margins: - 5m, 4m
Trial 5: - WOTCHAWAITINGFOR was the class runner of the trial and was able to lead throughout and get the prize but not without a scare as AJAY BREEZY ROSE, which has only won one race previously, flew home from three back on the markers and almost claimed victory. Considering the final half was run in 56.9 seconds, it was an exceptionally good run by AJAY BREEZY ROSE. CULLENS LEGEND moved into third after settling four back on the inside and NUCLEAR NIKKY finished fourth after leading out then taking cover. NUCLEAR NIKKY has also secured just the one victory so it was a good performance by her in fast time. SANDS OF ZANZIBAR and NUREYEV were fifth and sixth throughout.
Mile Rate: - 1.57.9 Final Half: - 56.9 Margins: - 1m, 5m
BLACKBOOKER: - Ajay Breezy Rose
MELTON
Trial 1: - All of the four trotters were able to step away safely from the standing start with HOT ZIGGITY leading from REINE SEREINE (Orlando Vici – My Serene Queen $13,035), ARAIGNEE FLAIR (Yankee Spider – Petite Flair 2.4.1, $3,675) and the 30m back marker WAR SPIRIT, which took over a lap to tack onto the group. REINE SEREINE waited for the sprint lane run and accelerated beautifully in the straight to win comfortably. WAR SPIRIT moved into second after racing without cover in the latter stages with HOT ZIGGITY dropping back to third but importantly, doing everything right. ARAIGNEE FLAIR ended up finishing last of the four runners.
Mile Rate: - 2.8.1 Final Half: - 61.3 Margins: - 3.5m, 2.5m
Trial 2: - HOLY BASIL is yet to make his comeback to the race track but he was able to put another trial victory onto his resume. He settled down in fourth position before leaving the pegs at the 1700m mark and found the lead shortly afterwards. LONGNWINDINGROAD was put on the horses to follow list after a big trial several weeks ago and he didn’t disappoint with his second behind the undefeated HOLY BASIL. He settled down in last position, moved away from the pegs at the 600m mark and chased gamely over the latter stages. BAD BOY SHADOW showed good gate speed to lead early before taking a trail. He held down third in front of JEMSTONE GLORY, which raced three back on the inside for the majority of the trial and HIGHCHAIR (Julius Caesar – Diamonds Inthedark) (4 back markers) finished last of the five runners.
Mile Rate: - 2.3.1 Final Half: - 57.36 Margins: - 2m, 10.5m
Trial 3: - BURNFOURU began quickly to lead and set up a moderate tempo. He dashed nicely clear on the home turn but was starting to tire late and just scrambled home. BRONSKI MOMENT ran BURNFOURU down to the margin of half a neck on the line after trailing the winner throughout. FIGHTING FIRE (Roll With Joe – Arivee 1.59.3, $83,953) settled four back on the markers and was the first horse to leave the inside in the last quarter. It took him some time to hit top gear but he was making up ground at the finish. NEVER TOO OLD (Julius Caesar – Miss Bonton 2.1.7, $37,916) finished fourth after settling three back on the markers before the first turn and MISTER GLEE (Mr Feelgood – Love You More) was last throughout.
Mile Rate: - 2.3.3 Final Half: - 59.07 Margins: - 1/2Neck, 5m
Trial 4: - FAKE SMILE was probably the most interesting horse to trial all week. He has the exceptional record of eight wins from ten starts with his only unplaced run being in the 4yo Bonanza won by Tact Tate. He hasn’t raced since May 2016 but he was impressive in what should be a strong form trial. He settled five back on the inside and came with a big finish out wide on the track. NOTA REPLICA was very good in running second. He settled four back on the inside before moving up boldly without cover from the 600m mark. He was only beaten on the line and THE HERVEY BAY finished strongly via the sprint lane after trailing the leader WAR DAN DELIGHT throughout. WAR DAN DELIGHT ended up in fourth and wasn’t too far away from the winner. SMART LITTLE SHARD trailed nicely behind NOTA REPLICA in the final 600m and was given a soft trial as he never peeled to the outside at any stage. GILTY HANOVER was following THE HERVEY BAY through along the sprint lane and finished sixth in a blanket finish.
Mile Rate: - 2.2.9 Final Half: - 57.43 Margins: - Short ½ Head, 1.5m
BLACKBOOKER: - Nota Replica
Trial 5: - Only three horses contested the fifth trial with the Breeders Crown Silver Trot winner BEAU GARCON being the only horse to do everything right and winning the event. He led early then took a trail behind TZU NIEN with 1200m remaining. TZU NIEN galloped at the start and lost approximately 40m. He took advantage of a slow tempo to tack onto the group and circled into the lead before starting to race fiercely. He set up a good lead but tired in the latter stages and was run down late. CASH LOVER (Ready Cash – Lucky Love) trailed BEAU GARCON throughout but broke stride in the final 75m.
Mile Rate: - 2.6.2 Final Half: - 61.98 Margins: - 3m, 19m
Trial 6: - JUSTICE SERVED charged to the lead shortly after the start and pulled hard throughout. He set up a hectic tempo and ran his rivals ragged, although he was getting a little weary in the latter stages. ROCKNTINGIRA settled three back on the markers and quickly moved around the galloping IMPLODE to give chase with 600m remaining. He picked up some ground on JUSTICE SERVED before peaking in the final 150m. IMPLODE got going again to kick back underneath of SEAROVER to finish in third position.
Mile Rate: - 1.57.5 Final Half: - 59.23 Margins: - 23.5m, 31.5m
Trial 7: - It was a class line up of trotters contesting the seventh trial and the connections of all five runners would be happy with the performance of their horses as the field went to the line stretched across the track. IL PIRATA settled three back on the markers and made a move with 300m remaining. He did best in the sprint up the straight from AMOUR DE FRERE, which trailed the leader and burst through along the sprint lane. SAVE OUR PENNYS settled down last of the five runners before moving up without cover at the 600m mark. He hit the line strongly as did the top mare DANCE CRAZE out wider on the track. DANCE CRAZE wasn’t asked for a full effort and she has had two quiet trials over the past few weeks. DESTINEE JENILOU finished last after setting the speed but she wasn’t beaten by far.
Mile Rate: - 2.2.9 Final Half: - 58.32 Margins: - ½ neck, short ½ head, ½ head
Trial 8: - GOOBER (Angus Hall – Jumanji Franco) began very quickly from the mobile but wanted to fire up and dashed away during the early and middle stages of the event. NAKED AMBITION (Andover Hall – Starcus $55,576) settled four back on the markers and moved around to second just after the bell to chase the tearaway leader down. She loomed up as a chance on the home turn but GOOBER kicked on strongly to win well. That pair put a huge gap on the remainder of the field, which was headed by HALLOFASUDDEN (Angus Hall – Galleons Surprise $28,062), which raced three back on the markers throughout. HOMONYM (Majestic Son – A Touch of Sun) didn’t really chase from behind the leader and finished fourth in front of ZIPPIN AROUND (6 back markers), which got passed JADE NIEN (5 back markers) in the latter stages.
Mile Rate: - 2.5.0 Final Half: - 60.10 Margins: - 3m, 77m
Blackbook Horses to Follow
Ajay Breezy Rose
Blue Corman
Common Courtesy
Crocrock
El Boston
Have Ago Joe
Holstein
Holy Basil
Keayang Ignite
Long Weekend
Longnwindingroad
Nota Replica
Park Life
Rhythm And Grace
Segesta
Thedevilindisguise
Van Sank