Harness Racing form guru Craig Rail noticed several standout performers at the recent trials.

Maxnjax caught the eye at Geelong, returning from a spell to win with a strong sustained run.

Gatesys Gem impressed with a sharp sprint from last to score in her Geelong trial.

Keayang Omar lit up the clock at Bendigo, closing in 56.1 to win by a big margin.

TRIAL REPORT 312

BACCHUS MARSH 12/04/25

Trial 1: - JAYS ALL THAT is an unraced juvenile trotter by Elite Stride for trainer Tyrone Abela. He has been performing well at the trials and was able to defeat older and more experienced horses in the opening trial. EQUAL AND OPPOSITE finished a length away in second position with MAUDARCHY NZ being the third horse across the line. PERFECT PEAK finished in fourth and CABIN CREW, which is backing up at Cranbourne on Friday night, being the fifth horse to cross the line.

Mile Rate: - 2.6.1                           Last Half: - 62.6                        Margins: - 3m, 6m

Trial 3: - BLISSFULL STRIDE hasn’t raced since being unplaced at Echuca in February. He took on easier opposition in his trial performance but he was able to get the job done and he is backing up at Cranbourne this afternoon. LOU EASYANA finished in second position and SASSYOLA, which is backing up at Stawell on Friday afternoon, was the third horse across the line.

Mile Rate: - 2.9.2                           Last Half: - 62.4                        Margins: - ½ head, 5m

Trial 4: - CARUSO STAR was able to take out the final trial by a comfortable margin and he recorded a handy final half of 58.6 seconds. He is a recent winner at Cranbourne and is backing up on that track on Friday night. FREAK OUT finished in second position and BETTES BLUE VIOLET finished in third. BETTES BLUE VIOLET is resuming since November at Ballarat this evening.

Mile Rate: - 2.5.2                           Last Half: - 58.6                        Margins: - 3m, ½ head

MARYBOROUGH 13/04/25

Trial 1: - SKADI finished second at Mildura at his latest attempt but he did break stride and was stood down to trial. He was able to win the opening trial by leading throughout. HOLD ON FOREVER, which is backing up at Ballarat this evening, finished in second after trailing the leader throughout. REMI MAGIC was the third horse across the line after landing the one out and one back trail at the 1700m and beat home OUR EYES EMOJI, which left a trailing position to move into the death seat. The winner SKADI is scheduled to compete at Echuca on Sunday evening.

Mile Rate: - 2.1.7                           Last Half: - 58.6                        Margins: - Unavailable

Trial 3: - SAVON DE ROCHE is an unraced filly by Lather Up for trainer Kate Hargreaves that is competing at Stawell on Friday afternoon. She recorded handy time at her trial success after settling four back on the markers and moving into the one out and one back trail from the 500m. NAMELLA hasn’t raced since being unplaced at Ballarat in November but is also competing at Stawell on Friday. She finished second after trailing the leader and making a move from the 500m. TALKBABYTALK was three back on the markers throughout and finished a close up third.

Mile Rate: - 2.0.0                           Last Half: - 59.7                        Margins: - Head, 1m

Trial 5: - THE PRIESTESS hasn’t raced since being unplaced in a heat of the Super Series in September. She won her trial by a large margin, despite breaking at the start and losing approximately 50m. PEGASUS LEGACY attempted to lead throughout and was a clear leader mid-race but he broke stride at the 300m. He still finished well ahead of SWEET ALTO, which settled three back on the inside and broke stride at the 700m. Both PEGASUS LEGACY and SWEET ALTO are unraced while THE PRIESTESS is a proven winner so THE PRIESTESS was well placed in the trial.

Mile Rate: - 2.6.4                           Last Half: - 62.6                        Margins: - 20m, 80m

Trial 7: - IM LADY RHONDA has been racing in peak form and continued the roll with her trial success. She was slow away and missed approximately 20m early but she was too quick in the sprint up the straight. She is backing up at Ballarat this evening and should have plenty of confidence leading up to that performance. APEX finished last of the two runners after setting the speed but he wasn’t beaten by far.

Mile Rate: - 2.11.4                         Last Half: - 60.5                        Margin: - 1m

GEELONG 14/04/25

Trial 2: - MAXNJAX hasn’t raced since being unplaced at Melton in August but he is a smart horse when racing at his best form and he did win a heat of the Warragul Cup last season. He finished off in slick final sectionals after settling four back on the markers and sustaining a run from the 700m to win his trial over the open class trotter HARRY STAMPER NZ, which won at his latest performance at Melton and attempted to lead throughout in his trial against the pacers. JUST PEDRO trailed the leader and finished a distant third with ISOLATION (3 back markers) being the fourth horse across the line.

Mile Rate: - 2.1.7                           Last Half: - 56.6                        Margins: - 1m, 10m

BLACKBOOKER: - Maxnjax

Trial 3: - GATESYS GEM hasn’t raced since winning the Graeme Lang Trot during her juvenile season, which also yielded a win in the Tatlow Stakes and second placed efforts in the Breeders Crown and the Redwood Classic. She was impressive in coming from last and sprinting quickly to defeat SASSY GALLEON, which attempted to lead throughout. SASSY GALLEON also had a good juvenile season with two victories along with a fifth in the Redwood Classic and a fourth in the Breeders Crown. She is returning from a spell at Cranbourne on Friday afternoon. VYTIS finished in third position with HILLWINSOME being in fourth. HILLWINSOME is also racing at Cranbourne on Friday afternoon.

Mile Rate: - 2.7.3                           Last Half: - 59.8                        Margins: - 1m, 4m

BLACKBOOKER: - Gatesys Gem

Trial 4: - JUSTALITTLESIP NZ hasn’t raced since finishing sixth at Geelong in November. He was five back on the markers, moved off the inside in the back straight (1-2) and came out four horses wide on the home turn before sprinting home best to get the prize. He won in handy time over NOVA BAXTER, which is backing up at Melton on Saturday night. He settled four back on the inside, moved into the one out and one back at the trail in the back straight and came out three horses wide on the home turn. DOUGS FLAME won the Breeders Challenge Regional Final at Bathurst last outing and was the third horse across the line after trailing the leader and using the sprint lane.

Mile Rate: - 1.59.9                         Last Half: - 59.8                        Margins: - ½ head, 3m

BENDIGO 14/04/25

Trial 2: - SHEMEANSBUSINESS is an unraced juvenile filly for trainer Alex Ashwood by Captain Crunch and she recorded slick time in her success over ZOE ELLA. She pushed forward to find the lead shortly after the start and won with ease. ZOE ELLA finished in second after settling four back on the markers and HAWKESDALE DEED came from last to finish in a distant third.

Mile Rate: - 1.58.7                         Last Half: - 58.8                        Margins: - 6m, 10m

Trial 5: - KATUNGA EXPRESS is lightly raced but has shown plenty of potential having won four races. He hasn’t started since a fifth at Shepparton in December but he finished off in a slick final quarter of 27.8 seconds from behind the leader to win nicely and with something in hand. He is resuming at Shepparton on Tuesday night. PARISIAN ARTISTE is an open class trotter, which finished second in the Charlton Cup at his latest attempt. He came from last and loomed up to win but couldn’t get passed KATUNGA EXPRESS in the run to the finish. TOORAM CEE CEE finished in a distant third after setting the speed and will be competing at Echuca on Sunday.

Mile Rate: - 2.0.7                           Last Half: - 57.6                        Margins: - 2m, 9m

Trial 6: - TICTOK is a very strong mare and was able to dominate her rivals in the sixth event after she stormed to the front from the start and kept on rolling. QUAKE PROOF was the second horse across the line after settling last of the five runners and making a move from the half mile marker. ALFIE ALWAYS, which was stood down to trial after galloping at his latest attempt, finished third across the line after he settled four back on the markers and made up ground along the sprint lane.

Mile Rate: - 1.59.8                         Last Half: - 60.3                        Margins: - 26m, 4m

Trial 7: - KEAYANG OMAR finished off in a blistering final half of 56.1 seconds after settling the speed to win his trial by a very large margin. He is backing up at Cranbourne on Friday afternoon and will prove hard to beat on that performance. CLEM MCARDLE finished in second position after settling down last of the six runners, being held up for a run at a vital stage and finishing off solidly in the straight. DYGANALI, which has had several trial performances recently, was the third horse across the line after trailing the leader throughout. Both CLEM MCARDLE and DYGANALI are backing up at Echuca on Sunday evening.

Mile Rate: - 2.3.2                           Last Half: - 56.1                        Margins: - 25m, short ½ head

BLACKBOOKER: - Keayang Omar