Harness Racing form guru Craig Rail noticed several standout performers at the recent trials.
At Maryborough, El Tornado, who hasn’t raced since successive victories in early 2024, used the sprint lane and finished off fast for an impressive victory. He should go well at his first up run at Maryborough on Sunday.
At Bendigo, My Ultimate Mateo produced a big performance for an unraced colt to finish in second.
An eye-catching trial at Melton saw Cigano produce a slick performance to defeat his two star stable mates Storms Collide and The Highlight Reel.
COBRAM 21/05/26
Trial 1: – LENIU hasn’t raced since a promising campaign back in 2024, which yielded two wins and a second from just three attempts. He hasn’t raced for a long time but was able to take the opening trial by a narrow margin. He is scheduled to race at Shepparton on Tuesday night. LITTLE MISS VALLEY is trotting well and was able to break through for her first victory at Shepparton on April 21. She finished in second just ahead of her former stable mate COUNTRY ROCKSTAR. SUNSHINE MILLIE finished in fourth ahead of the former New Zealander CRACKERJACK NZ. The second placed LITTLE MISS VALLEY and the fourth placed SUNSHINE MILLIE are both competing at Shepparton on Tuesday night.
Mile Rate: – 2.8.7 Last Half: – 58.2 Margins: – Neck, Neck
Trial 2: – HEYNOWHEYNOW is a colt by Sweet Lou, which continued his reasonable trial form with a victory over stable mate SABALENKA. SABALENKA is a juvenile filly by Tall Dark Stranger out of Rockdastars, an unraced dam of the two winners Missdeheir (2.0.5) and Eastenda (1.59.5). SCARLETT NIGHT is out of the former classy mare Scarlett Brew (1.54.9, $51,315) and was the third horse across the line. NELLS ALL BLISS was the fourth horse to greet the judge.
Mile Rate: – 2.3.5 Last Half: – 58.2 Margins: – Neck, 3m
BACCHUS MARSH 23/05/26
Trial 1: – DELIGHTFUL REYNA has been performing fairly well at the trials leading up to her debut performance at Stawell on Monday and was able to defeat older horses in the opening event. She defeated AMESKY, which hasn’t raced since an unplaced effort at Cranbourne in October. REVERAND BOB hasn’t started since finishing unplaced in a heat of the Breeders Crown in December and filled third with THE WOOL BROKER being last of the quartet across the line. REVERAND BOB resumes at Melton this evening and THE WOOL BROKER makes his debut at Maryborough on Sunday.
Mile Rate: – 2.13.7 Last Half: – 63.1 Margins: – 2m, 3m
Trial 3: – RINGER WELLS hasn’t started since a fourth at Melton in November and has returned to his original trainer Michael Cole. He won the trial by a handy margin over ATEGO DAWN, which was a winner back in March. MAGIC LAW was last of the three runners across the line and will be racing at Melton tonight.
Mile Rate: – 2.4.1 Last Half: – 59.4 Margins: – 8m, 10m
Trial 4: – RENNIE TIN TIN recorded the fastest time of the day and was able to score by a comfortable margin. She has been lightly raced for the season having only had three starts but is a speedy type that is obviously close to her peak. ROSBERG NZ has been freshened since a ninth at Melton in March. He is the winner of over $100,000 in Stakes and has performed at a high level previously. He was the second horse across the line. LINE UP JACQUIE has been racing consistently and finished in third ahead of DENVER MAN.
Mile Rate: – 1.59.6 Last Half: – 59.3 Margins: – 2.5m, 4m
Trial 6: – BACCHANALIAN hasn’t raced since a ninth placed effort at Cranbourne back in March 2025. He recorded reasonable time in his comfortable trial victory over the former New South Wales trained pacer LIV ON LOVE, which is now with trainer Wayne Stebbing. HARD BANDIT is an unraced gelding by Sunshine Beach and finished a distant third just ahead of LYNNES SPECIAL.
Mile Rate: – 2.1.8 Last Half: – 61.1 Margins: – 5m, 15m
Trial 7: – MATRIARCH DAISY has been runner up at her past three attempts and kept the momentum rolling with a trial victory in good fashion. She should run a good race at Melton this evening. She defeated the juvenile pacer FEAR THE MISSUS with STORM VENDETTA being 40m away in third position. SPICYOLA was last of the four runners across the line.
Mile Rate: – 2.2.5 Last Half: – 58.0 Margins: – 10m, 40m
MARYBOROUGH 24/05/26
Trial 1: – EL TORNADO hasn’t raced since successive victories in early 2024. He trailed the leader, used the sprint lane and finished off fast for an impressive victory in the opening trial. He should go well at his first up run at Maryborough on Sunday. NEDZA THRILLER attempted to lead throughout and finished in second position with CHAMPAGNE GEMMA being the third horse across the line after settling three back on the markers and moving up without cover at the 700m mark. CARPOPHORUS was last of the quartet throughout. NEDZA THRILLER is scheduled to compete again at Stawell on Monday afternoon.
Mile Rate: – 2.4.2 Last Half: – 59.8 Margins: – 10m, 3m
BLACKBOOKER: – El Tornado
Trial 2: – IM THE REASON settled three back on the markers, came to the outside at the 200m and finished off best in a handy final half of 58.4 seconds. TELEMACHUS was the second horse across the line after attempting to lead throughout. AMPHIJET trailed the leader, came to the outside at the quarter pole and missed out by a narrow margin. EXOTIC CHESTER was last of the four runners for the duration.
Mile Rate: – 2.2.4 Last Half: – 58.4 Margins: – 1m, 1m
Trial 4: – The smart juvenile pacer THEMIDNIGHTEXPRESS was placed in the Sapling Stakes at Menangle in March and also contested the Bathurst Gold Crown series. He appeared to be very sharp at his trial victory after he came from three back on the inside at the 500m mark and finished off fast to win clearly in fast time. He should make his presence felt at Maryborough on Sunday afternoon. ARUVAL set up a genuine tempo in the leading role and finished a game second. He will also be backing up at Maryborough on Sunday. MANOFMOYREISK was without cover early before angling in behind the leader and finished in a distant third. He makes his debut at Stawell on Monday afternoon. LANIKAI WARRIOR finished in fourth after being four back on the markers throughout. He is by Soho Lanikai out of Soho Jolie (2.0.5, $14,484), which has produced the three winners Thedevilindisguise (2.0.2), The Devil Rolls On (1.58.9) and The Devils Flame (1.55.2).
Mile Rate: – 1.56.8 Last Half: – 57.8 Margins: – 15m, 20m
CRANBOURNE 24/05/26
Trial 1: – ZION JEWEL is an unraced mare by For A Reason out of Vegas Jewel, an unraced daughter of the fine mare Artificial (1.58.7, $209,723) for trainer Jayne Davies. She trailed the leader JILLIBY DINGO in a field of just two runners, came to the outside at the 300m mark and was able to win softly. JILLIBY DINGO wasn’t beaten by far in a sharp final half of 57.8 seconds.
Mile Rate: – 2.3.0 Last Half: – 57.8 Margin: – 1.5m
Trial 2: – ZIPPIN PAST is a handy juvenile trotter, which has already won two races. She trailed the leader, came to the outside on the home turn and got up to win on the line with seemingly something in reserve. She should run a game race again at Maryborough on Sunday. KLYMENE finished a narrow second after attempting to lead throughout. MEVIA settled last of the trio, came out three horses wide approaching the home turn and was making ground before breaking stride on the corner.
Mile Rate: – 2.4.5 Last Half: – 60.0 Margins: – ½ head, 29m
HORSHAM 25/05/26
Trial 1: – FORTY LOVE hasn’t raced since a brave third in the Mildura Cup in mid-April. He is a strong campaigner and was able to win to the opening trial impressively considering his final quarter was run in 27.1 seconds! He is competing at Maryborough on Sunday. KOMODO has been racing well at Metropolitan level and wasn’t beaten by far in second. He is scheduled to compete at Melton on Saturday night.
Mile Rate: – 1.58.9 Last Half: – 56.5 Margin: – 2m
Trial 2: – It was a good finish between the two Peter Manning trained runners with TORQUE IN HEAVEN coming up trumps. He hasn’t raced since a sixth at Maryborough in December. COOPER CHUBB hasn’t raced since a tenth in the Breeders Crown Final at Melton in December. He finished a half head away from the winner. The juvenile pacer BETTOR TORQUE finished in a distant third. He is by Bettor’s Wish out of Torque Attraction (1.58.7, $35,432), which has produced five winners including Always Torque Tome (1.58.4) and Time To Torque (1.55.7, $102,202) and is also the dam of the winner TORQUE IN HEAVEN.
Mile Rate: – 2.5.5 Last Half: – 60.7 Margins: – ½ head, 85m
BENDIGO 25/05/26
Trial 1: – KATIES LEGEND settled three back on the markers, moved into the one out and one back trail in the back straight, raced very greenly but was able to get the job done by a comfortable margin. MADAM SASS is a juvenile filly for trainer Julie Mifsud, which backed up her trial third at Kilmore with a second placed effort after she attempted to lead throughout. TEMPEST NOIR trailed the leader and used the sprint lane, finishing in third position. She is a filly by The Storm Inside out of Maddies Last, an unraced mare by Bettor’s Delight, whose first foal Lightning Bling has been placed. IM HELLS BELLE and CRACKERSATMIDNIGHT both broke stride in the early stages and finished fourth and fifth respectively. CRACKERSATMIDNIGHT is a juvenile gelding by Capt Midnight out of Cracker Three NZ, which has produced six winners including I’m The Mightygramps (1.56.3, $91,626) and Spirit of Pearl (1.54.6, $75,935) with Ruggards Gee Tee (1.58.9) racing at Mildura this afternoon.
Mile Rate: – 2.4.4 Last Half: – 61.2 Margins: – 5m, Nose
Trial 2: – ZIHUATANEJO has had an extensive trial campaign and his latest victory was one of his best performances. He settled down last of the seven runners, moved away from the inside at the 600m and was forced out three horses wide from the 300m. He sustained a long run to get the prize. TRYX VIXEN settled three back on the inside, left the markers at the 600m and tried hard for second. GOODMORNING MIKI trailed the leader and finished in third ahead of JANSEN, which attempted to lead throughout. JANSEN is racing at Stawell on Monday afternoon.
Mile Rate: – 1.59.2 Last Half: – 58.5 Margins: – 2m, 4m
Trial 3: – MY LADY MAC continued her good trial form with an all of the way victory. She scored by a large margin over HALFYOURSHALFMINE, which trailed the leader throughout, and LUXALICIOUS was last for the duration. MY LADY MAC is competing at Maryborough on Sunday and HALFYOURSHALFMINE has unfortunately been withdrawn from the Nutrien Classic Final at Wagga.
Mile Rate: – 2.3.5 Last Half: – 61.2 Margins: – 20m, 15m
Trial 4: – DANGEROUS settled four back on the markers, moved up without cover at the quarter pole and produced a solid run in fast final sectionals to win clearly. He appears to be well placed in the final event at Wagga this afternoon. MIKI SING settled three back on the markers, moved away from the inside on the home turn and ran home strongly for a game second. Considering he has a National Rating of 61 and Dangerous has a rating of 110, his effort was extremely good. HUNGRY HIPPO finished in third after attempting to lead throughout. WICKED MITZI finished last of the four runners after trailing the leader.
Mile Rate: – 1.59.0 Last Half: – 55.9 Margins: – 3m, 5m
Trial 6: – ALL OVER IT remains undefeated from three attempts and kept the momentum rolling with another impressive display. He settled last of the eight runners, moved into the running lane at the 700m (1-2) and came out three horses wide at the 300m mark. He dashed home in a last quarter of 27.9 seconds to win the prize and has come up with the pole position for his effort at Maryborough on Sunday. MY ULTIMATE MATEO produced a big performance for an unraced colt to finish in second. He settled four back on the inside, moved up without cover at the 800m mark and kicked on strongly in the run to the finish. MISS JOPLIN settled five back on the markers, moved into the one out and one back trail in the back straight and battled on fairly well for third. She is competing at Shepparton on Tuesday night. COUNTRY ROCKSTAR settled three back on the markers and finished fourth with HES LETHAL making ground from sixth position to pick up fifth.
Mile Rate: – 2.2.9 Last Half: – 57.9 Margins: – 3m, 4m
Blackbooker: – My Ultimate Mateo
TERANG 26/05/26
Trial 1: – EL LAZZAR broke stride and lost his chance at his debut. He finished off the trial in a slick final quarter of 28.3 seconds to win comfortably over TACTICALLY PERFECT NZ, which was a debut winner back in December. JILLIBY KYMY LOU also hasn’t been to the races since December. She boasts a consistent record and finished in third position ahead of PAKIKAU and STORMY LIMITS was last of the five runners across the line.
Mile Rate: – 2.4.4 Last Half: – 58.5 Margins: – 3m, 1m
Trial 4: – HOPPY NZ is a handy trotter, which has won five races and hasn’t started since October but continues to trial well. KEAYANG TWEETYBIRD hasn’t raced since finishing sixth behind Keayang Zahara in the Super Series Final in November. She finished in second and was well ahead of the third placed LAIN NZ, which has had one run since coming down to Queensland. THE KNOCKABOUT was last of the four runners across the line but he met a quality field.
Mile Rate: – 2.6.9 Last Half: – 60.0 Margins: – 12m, 15m
MELTON ENTERTAINMENT PARK 26/05/26
Trial 1: – LUVTOBEUPTOME settled three back on the markers, moved up without cover at the 600m and produced a strong finish in a sizzling final quarter of 26.8 seconds to win the trial. APOLLOSTORM settled five back on the inside, moved into the one out and one back trail behind the winner and finished off well for a close second. MIDNIGHT MOTH trailed the leader, used the sprint lane and finished a close up third. He is backing up at Maryborough on Sunday afternoon. ARCEE PHOENIX was beaten into fourth but he took on some quality pacers and he set up a very genuine speed so his effort was sound. MISS ARI settled in seventh and ran into a close up fifth.
Mile Rate: – 1.56.6 Last Half: – 55.4 Margins: – Neck, 1m
Trial 2: – AUSTON finished fourth at his first two trial attempts and backed it up with a victory after he settled five back on the markers and made a run from the 600m mark. STERLING GIGI finished in second after being three back on the markers and making his move from the quarter pole. DREAMS FOREVER finished in third after setting the speed and DEL RAY picked up ground via the sprint lane to fill fourth position.
Mile Rate: – 1.58.9 Last Half: – 58.0 Margins: – ½ head, 1.75m
Trial 3: – GOODTIME ORO trailed the leader, used the sprint lane and finished off quickly to win. CARDIGAN BOOM began quickly to find the lead and fought on well in a quick final half to finish in second. BUNGY settled four back on the markers, moved up without cover at the 700m and battled on nicely for third. MATT DAN settled three back on the inside, used the sprint lane and finished a close fourth. That was his first trial performance and he should have improved with the experience. He is by Poster Boy out of Promise Me Robin, the dam of the top performer Tin Tin Jo (1.51.5, $178,387).
Mile Rate: – 1.59.8 Last Half: – 57.0 Margins: – ½ Neck, 2m
Trial 4: – TREACHEROUS DAN began quickly to find the lead, backed off the tempo mid-race and held off the challengers to win the trial. DAUGHTER OFDARKNES trailed the leader, came to the outside on the home turn and tried hard for a close second. She is racing at Shepparton on Tuesday night. CO CAPTAIN settled last of the eight runners, came to the outside with a half mile remaining and chased determinedly for a game third. POSTERIZED was three back on the markers and finished in fourth with FAMOUS CRIMES (4 back markers) being in fifth spot.
Mile Rate: – 1.58.3 Last Half: – 57.2 Margins: – Neck, 4.25m
Trial 5: – CIGANO produced a very slick performance to down his two stable mates STORMS COLLIDE and THE HIGHLIGHT REEL. He settled last of the trio, waited for the sprint lane and accelerated brilliantly in a final quarter of 26.6 seconds. STORMS COLLIDE finished second after attempting to lead throughout and THE HIGHLIGHT REEL was a close up third after trailing the leader and coming to the outside on the home turn.
Mile Rate: – 1.55.4 Last Half: – 55.4 Margins: – ½ head, neck
BLACKBOOKER: – Cigano
Trial 6: – REMEMBRANCE TIME is a juvenile trotter by Classic Connection out of the smart mare Ima Bourbon Girl NZ (1.57.8, $66,160), which won at Group 3 level. She is the first foal and appears to have inherited her dam’s ability as she defeated older horses with ease after trailing the leader and sprinting quickly from the quarter pole. KYVALLEY DIABLO settled four back on the markers and came to the outside at the 800m mark. He battled on well for second with LAVENGERS BOY being in third after setting the speed. LAVENGERS BOY will be competing at Maryborough on Sunday.
Mile Rate: – 2.2.8 Last Half: – 60.0 Margins: – 9.5m, 4.5m
