Harness Racing form guru Craig Rail noticed several standout performers at the recent trials.
SHEPPARTON 30/04/26
Trial 1: – JACKS ULTIMATE FURY NZ trailed the leader, came to the outside at the 600m mark and sustained a very strong run when he drew clear at the end to win by a large margin. It was a very impressive display to back up his good trial effort a week earlier. He should prove very hard to beat at Wagga this afternoon. DIAMOND ECLIPSE attempted to lead throughout and set up a genuine tempo. He finished a distant second but was able to beat the others by a comfortable margin. He is meeting JACKS ULTIMATE FURY NZ again today in the final race at Wagga. GOTTA HAV ME NZ settled four back on the inside and worked into third position. HEZASWEETIE NZ settled three back on the markers and was last of the four runners across the line.
Mile Rate: – 1.58.6 Last Half: – 58.3 Margins: – 15m, 5m
Trial 3: – GOCCIADORO trailed the leader, used the sprint lane and powered home to win comfortably. He has had a good start to the season and finished second in the Bathurst Gold Crown Final at his latest attempt. He should go well again at Wagga this afternoon. OUTPOST finished in second after attempting to lead throughout. DEMARTINO was the third horse across the line after settling four back on the markers and running home strongly over the latter stages. UNDERSTATED EDGE settled three back on the markers and finished in fourth with ONE OUTTA THREE being last for the majority of the journey but he did try and make a run from the 700m mark.
Mile Rate: – 2.3.0 Last Half: – 59.30 Margins: – 5m, 5m
Trial 4: – JILLIBY RYDER began swiftly and was able to run to the lead shortly after the start. He ran along at a very genuine tempo and remained strong at the finish, winning by a large margin. He backed up at Wagga on Tuesday night and finished unplaced behind William Aitch and is racing on that track again today. YARRAMAN JOLT trailed the leader throughout and chased hard in the latter stages. He couldn’t keep up with the winner but he was able to beat the others by a large margin. SHES FROM TEXAS (3 back markers) and BETTOR JAX NZ (4 back markers) finished third and fourth respectively and the trotter IJUSTCALLEDTOSAY lost his chance after breaking stride at the start. IJUSTCALLEDTOSAY is competing at Melton on Saturday night.
Mile Rate: – 1.59.6 Last Half: – 57.2 Margins: – 10m, 30m
Trial 6: – ISLAND YANKEE took out the final trial after leading throughout. DEMBE sat in the trail, came to the outside at the 500m and tried hard for second. SAHARA SEAKRET settled three back on the markers, trailed the leader coming up to the home turn and went to the line on the back of the winner without making a move in the straight.
Mile Rate: – 2.5.0 Last Half: – 59.0 Margins: – 1m, 5m
MILDURA 01/05/26
Trial 1: – ANGELS WATCHING hasn’t started since a win at Mildura in November but he continued his good trial form with a runaway victory after leading throughout. He is resuming at Ouyen on Sunday and should go well. THE AFRICAN QUEEN is also racing at Ouyen and finished in second after trailing the leader. KEAYANG SHADOWBOX was last of the three runners for the duration.
Mile Rate: – 2.0.9 Last Half: – 57.3 Margins: – 18m, 27m
Trial 2: – ALS CHOICE continued his impressive trial form with another big victory. He trailed the leader, came to the outside at the 400m and quickly hit the front. He motored away over the latter stages and recorded handy time. He makes his debut at Ouyen on Sunday and should go well. DAYLIGHT finished in second after setting up a genuine tempo. SWEET LUCY LOU broke stride at the start and lost approximately thirty metres. She never recovered and finished a distant third.
Mile Rate: – 1.59.9 Last Half: – 59.3 Margins: – 25m, 24m
KYABRAM 03/05/26
Trial 1: – GOODMORNING MIKI is an unraced filly for trainer Wayne Lear. She is Always B Miki and is the first foal out of Goodmorning Cheryl (1.58.9), a race winning daughter of the Group 2 winning mare Trend Setter. She won the opening trial over the three times winning mare Rocking Tiff, which hasn’t started since May 2025. BLAZING JAZZ finished last of the three runners. He is by Courage Under Fire out of Fidelius Charm (1.59.1, $159,974), the dam of Soho Wolverine (1.57.1, $54,626).
Mile Rate: – 2.9.6 Last Half: – 63.6 Margins: – 1m, 2m
Trial 2: – It was a dead-heat between the two competitors in the final trial. BIRMINGHAM GIRL is a 3yo filly for trainer Gary Pekin by Majestic Son out of the Group 1 winning mare Fiery Mountain Girl NZ (1.57.4, $109,356), whose first two foals have both won races (Voltain 2.1.4, $77,626 and Please Layla 2.5.4, $11,145). Her stable mate DONNE FORTE is also nicely bred. She is a juvenile filly by On A Streak out of My Valerie NZ (1.54.8, $132,655), the producer of the three winners Amour Maternal (1.59.5, $50,455), Kings Guard (1.59.7, $71,715) and Bertinelli (1.55.8, $29,513).
Mile Rate: – 2.26.5 Last Half: – 66.0 Margin: Dead-heat
BENDIGO 04/05/26
Trial 1: – MIDNIGHT ALIBI produced a big performance at her first public appearance for new trainer Alex Ashwood. She settled last of the seven runners, came away from the inside with 900m remaining and sustained a long run to win with the last quarter being a slick 27.5 seconds. She has a low National Rating of 47 and should be winning a race in the near future. He should prove very hard to beat at Shepparton on Tuesday night. OWEN THE SAINTS finished in second after progressing forward to find the lead at the 1500m and kicking on well at the finish. He is also competing at Shepparton. WICKED ONE began fast to lead, took cover at the 1500m and made a surge from the 500m to join the leader. He battled on well at the end to finish in third and is another horse that is scheduled to compete at Shepparton on Tuesday night. NINEDOLLA TOASTIE began fast but couldn’t get across early, took cover and ended up being three back on the markers. She was the fourth horse across the line.
Mile Rate: – 2.1.0 Last Half: – 57.8 Margins: – 1m, 4m
BLACKBOOKER: – Midnight Alibi
Trial 2: – SURETHING took out the trial for juvenile pacers. She is by Guaranteed out of Nomi Malone (1.54.5, $72,150), whose first three foals have all been winners (Little Showgirl 2.2.5, Coniston 1.56.4, Sweet Marion 2.1.7). SURETHING settled four back on the markers, moved into the one out and one back trail at the 600m and finished off best in the home straight to win by a comfortable margin. KALEB finished in second after attempting to lead throughout. He is by Huntsville out of the unraced mare Kateeshar, which has produced eight winners including the two $100,000+ earners in Arggghhh (1.53.0, $261,380) and Shaq (1.53.9, $174,615). VINNYHOO finished in third after settling three back on the markers and moving into the death seat at the 600m mark. He is by Vincent out of Halle Rage (1.55.3, $58,497), whose first foal Fit of Rage (1.59.9) has already been a winner. IDEAL MIKI finished last of the quartet after trailing the leader throughout. She is by Always B Miki out of Ideal Taxes, an unraced daughter of the top Tasmanian mare Death And Taxes (1.58.1, $125,300). IDEAL MIKI is the third foal.
Mile Rate: – 2.3.0 Last Half: – 60.2 Margins: – 4m, 2m
Trial 3: – LUXALICIOUS won the trial for the juvenile trotters. He is by Classic Connection FRA out of Schleck NZ (2.4.6), whose first three foals have all been handy performers (Elegant Jet 1.58.8, Parisian Artiste 1.54.3, $289,423, Fonda Rhonda 1.57.6). LUXACIOUS trailed the leader, came to the outside at the quarter pole and proved superior. HIS DEVIL INSIDE finished in second position at his sixth trial appearance. He attempted to lead throughout and was run down at the end but beat his other two rivals by a comfortable margin. HALFYOURSHALFMINE finished third after being three back on the markers throughout. She is by Elite Stride out of Miss Blissful NZ (1.58.5, $118,728) and is the second foal. ATEGO ANGEL was the only horse to make a mistake and she was the oldest horse competing in the trial. She is backing up at Geelong this evening.
Mile Rate: – 2.4.9 Last Half: – Unavailable Margins: – 8m, 9m
BLACKBOOKER: – Luxalicious
Trial 6: – EARL OF PEMBROKE NZ settled four back on the markers, came to the outside at the 600m mark and finished off best to win the trial by a comfortable margin. He was clearly the class runner of the trial on assessments and he dominated at the end. RUMPELSTILTSKIN led out then took cover and finished in second position. ASSIGNED began well and progressed forward to find the lead shortly after the start. He finished in third with MAC JAMES (3 back markers) being last of the four runners to greet the judge.
Mile Rate: – 1.59.8 Last Half: – 57.0 Margins: – 7m, 4m
MELTON ENTERTAINMENT PARK 05/05/26
Trial 1: – VOUCHER QUEEN is a former South Australian trotter, which joins trainer Alison Alford. She settled three back on the markers, trailed the leader from the 800m and angled wide on the home turn, getting home best to get the prize. She is racing at Charlton this afternoon. WAITING FOR ANNA trailed the leader, came to the outside at the 800m and hit the front at the 300m before being run down at the end. LEO GALLEON settled last of the six runners, extricated from the markers at the 500m and ran through the middle. He was held up for a run at a vital stage and went to the line strongly with plenty in reserve. REVERAND BOB finished in fourth after setting the speed.
Mile Rate: – 2.10.6 Last Half: – 62.0 Margins: – Head, 4m
Trial 3: – MORRIS BROWN was without cover early before pushing forward to find the lead at the 1800m. He took cover at the 900m and had a breather down the back straight before darting to the front at the 300m and winning untouched. He has been racing well and is backing up at Geelong this evening. RAKAROMPA NZ led out then took cover at the 1800m before ending up being three back on the markers at the 900m point. She moved into the one out and one back trail behind MORRIS BROWN turning out of the back straight and chased hard for a close second. INEXORABLE was three then four back on the markers and worked into a distant third. GIVE DAVE A WAVE settled last of the five runners, made a move at the 1100m to run to the lead at the 900m and was run down approaching the home turn. He is backing up at Melton tomorrow night.
Mile Rate: – 2.0.3 Last Half: – 57.5 Margins: – Neck, 24.5m
Trial 4: – ROCK THE CAPTAIN led throughout to win the juvenile pacers event. He is by Captaintreacherous out of the very fast mare Rock N Roll Chapel NZ (1.50.8, $164,070) and is the second foal. RONAN trailed the leader and came to the outside at the 500m mark. He tried hard and was beaten by a narrow margin. He has had numerous trials leading up to his debut performance at Maryborough on Monday afternoon. FEAR THE MISSUS finished third after settling three back on the markers. He is by Fear The Dragon out of the unraced mare Shes Offlimits and is related to Letsgetrowdy (1.57.5, $28,452) and Impermissible (1.54.6, $31,343). STEEL CAPTAIN was last for most of the event and drew level with FEAR THE MISSUS on the line. It was a sharper effort than his first up trial sixth.
Mile Rate: – 1.59.8 Last Half: – 58.1 Margins: – Neck, 19.5m
Trial 5: – BOULEVARD BART began quickly to find the lead and ran along at an even tempo. He was a clear leader mid-race and maintained a healthy margin over the latter stages to record a good victory. KHANS CREED began quickly and was able to get in behind the leader. He couldn’t go with the winner but was able to beat the remainder of the field by a reasonable margin. He is competing at Geelong this evening. The handy trotter SAM NIEN finished in third after settling four back on the markers and coming to the outside with 300m remaining. MY KGARI finished in fourth after being three back on the markers throughout.
Mile Rate: – 2.0.1 Last Half: – 58.4 Margins: – 13m, 9m
Trial 7: – ALDEBARAN EMJAY was successful in the juvenile trotting event after being the only horse of the seven runners to be able to trot throughout! She was three back on the markers, behind the leader at the 700m mark and came to the outside on the home turn. She has now won at her past two trial attempts. LOVE THAT BIRD filled second position after trailing the leader and getting to the front at the 700m mark. She broke stride with 150m remaining when being challenged. THE WOOL BROKER broke stride at the start and was tailed off early. He finished a distant third but he chased very hard and made up many lengths so he did show some ability. He is by Elite stride out of Pepperell Magic, which has produced six winners including Havana Magic (2.1.5, $83,726), All Cashed Up (1.58.7, $226,921) and McGee (1.57.5, $85,587). THE FIERY DUCHESS finished fourth after settling four back on the markers and breaking stride with 100m remaining. She is by Classic Connection out of the good mare Duchess Ella (1.57.2, $126,934), which has produced We Can Have It All (1.59.6, $100,269) and Oria (1.57.4, $44,977).
BLACKBOOKER: – The Wool Broker
Mile Rate: – 2.6.1 Last Half: – 61.4 Margins: – 22m, 29m
Trial 9: – SMACK BANG BART led throughout and was a very impressive winner of the final trial. He shot away over the latter stages and scored by over thirty metres so he is worth following. CRUNCH TIME TYCOON settled three back on the inside and ran into a distant second. EVERY CENT COUNTS raced without cover early, restrained to be five back on the markers and commenced a move in the final 300m. She was able to run into third position. She is by Vincent out of Our Lola Mae (1.55.4, $10,291) and is the first foal. YARALLA trailed the leader and battled on fairly into fourth.
Mile Rate: – 1.59.0 Last Half: – 57.7 Margins: – 36.5m, 15m
