Two-time Group 1-winning trotter Susan Is Her Name looks to be progressing nicely for a return to the races if a formidable trial performance at Melton is anything to go by.
Harness Racing Victoria form guru Craig Rail loved last week's performance from the Emma Stewart-trained mare, who hasn’t started since her victory in the Vicbred Super Series Final last September.
“She was five back on the markers, moved into the one out and one back trail at the 500m mark and produced a big finish in the final 300m,” Rail wrote.
Rail added Susan Is Her Name to his Blackbook along with Swift Watch, Dieing Fear and Watching The Boys.
TRIAL REPORT
SHEPPARTON 27/06/24
Trial 1: - HES CHARLIES ANGEL was without cover early before progressing forward to find the lead at the 1700m mark. He ran along at a genuine tempo and was untroubled in the run to the finish. AMERICAN LEGACY finished in second after leading out then taking cover. He never came to the outside at any stage and went to the line hard held so it was a good performance. TA KALCHE settled last of the five runners, came out three horses wide on the home turn and made ground for a distant third. He was beaten by 25m but considering the first two horses across the line are proven Metropolitan performers and he is yet to make his debut, it was a terrific effort.
Mile Rate: - 1.56.5 Last Half: - 56.8 Margins: - 5m, 20m
Trial 2: - SWIFT WATCH NZ settled five back on the inside, moved up without cover from the 1600m and worked to the lead at the 1400m after sprinting very quickly. He dominated the trial thereafter and raced away to win clearly. MARAKO SHARK trailed the leader early, was three back on the markers after SWIFT WATCH NZ made his move then worked around to trail the leader again at the bell. He finished a distant second with FENG SHUI STAR coming from four back on the markers to pick up third position. MARAKO SHARK and FENG SHUI STAR are both competing at Shepparton on Tuesday night.
Mile Rate: - 1.59.8 Last Half: - 58.2 Margins: - 25m, 2m
BLACKBOOKER: - Swift Watch NZ
Trial 3: - SIRLOU is an unraced gelding by Sweet Lou for trainer Craig Turnbull and recorded reasonable time in his success over BET ON ACES. He began quickly early to race without cover, worked to the front shortly afterwards and ran along at a reasonable tempo, winning clearly at the end. He makes his debut at Shepparton on Tuesday night. BET ON ACES led out then took cover and tried hard for second with BETATHANABOUGHTONE being a large distance away in third position. She did well at the end to fire along the sprint lane from sixth with SNEAKY PHILTRA finishing in fourth after being four back on the markers for the entire journey. BETATHANABOUGHTONE will be competing against SIRLOU at Shepparton on Tuesday night.
Mile Rate: - 2.0.5 Last Half: - 58.4 Margins: - 6m, 12m
Trial 5: - BITTA IRISH LUCK began quickly to find the lead and was always in control of the trial, winning easily at the end. LIZZIES SON settled four back on the markers, came away from the inside at the 300m and picked up good ground to finish in second. ZINGARA LASS trailed the leader throughout and finished in third with MADGE EGAN dropping out at the end after racing without cover for the majority of the journey.
Mile Rate: - 2.4.2 Last Half: - 61.2 Margins: - 5m, 10m
BACCHUS MARSH 29/06/24
Trial 1: - DANCIN WITH LUSH was beaten by a large margin at Cranbourne last outing but she has shown a lot more ability at the trials than she has at the races thus far in her career and she won the opening trial by a comfortable margin. THINKFAST RUNFAST is a juvenile pacer, which has been placed in one of his four starts to date. He finished in second with BLACKINDEED and TALLARAS BLANKEY being third and fourth respectively.
Mile Rate: - 2.3.0 Last Half: - 59.6 Margins: - 8m, 5m
Trial 4: - SAVERIO prepared for his effort at Melton this evening with a win in the closing event. She hasn’t raced since finishing unplaced at Cranbourne in February. She recorded slow time but got the job done ahead of CARRAMAR BULLOCK, which backed up with a ninth placed effort at Kilmore on Thursday night. TRIROCKIN and JOLEANER were third and fourth respectively.
Mile Rate: - 2.9.1 Last Half: - 63.1 Margins: - 8m, 2m
MARYBOROUGH 01/07/24
Trial 1: - OUTBACK QUEENIE trailed behind the leader JAZSPUR and waited for the sprint lane. She accelerated nicely and grabbed victory on the line. JAZSPUR attempted to lead throughout and ran along at a solid tempo. She did a good job against the pacers and went down narrowly. BLAKE BOLAC settled last of the three runners, came to the outside on the home turn and wasn’t far away in third position.
Mile Rate: - 2.2.7 Last Half: - 58.5 Margins: - Head, 1m
Trial 3: - MECARNO is a Michael Bellman prepared gelding by Tactical Landing out of the good mare Sundons Pride (2.1.4, $112,733). She has already produced two winners in Sizzlin and Tictok and MECARNO looks to have inherited some ability also. He settled three back on the inside, moved off the pegs at the 600m and dashed well clear of his rivals at the end to win by a large margin. BET BET HOTSHOT trailed the leader, galloped in the back straight on the final occasion and still picked up second ahead of the early leader PIQUE.
Mile Rate: - 2.6.3 Last Half: - 64.1 Margins: - 50m, 1m
ECHUCA 30/06/24
Trial 2: - LETHAL LOVER began swiftly and worked through to find the lead shortly after the start. She enjoyed a nice run in the leading role and was able to score comfortably. She is backing up at Shepparton on Tuesday night. NOTHINGBUTWAVES was the quickest to begin but was caught out three horses wide on the first corner and restrained to be the last horse following the markers. She moved into the one out and one back trail with 700m remaining and worked home reasonably well for second. THE FEENY FAVORITE settled three back on the markers and moved up without cover with 700m remaining. He finished third with MY BELLA (trailed leader) being last of the four runners to cross the line.
Mile Rate: - 2.4.6 Last Half: - 61.0 Margins: - 8m, 3m
BENDIGO 01/07/24
Trial 3: - PARISIAN ARTISTE makes his return to the race track in tomorrow night’s Aldebaran Park FFA and he has been very sharp at the trials so he is obviously somewhere near his peak form. He trailed behind the leader and his pacing stable mate CHEROKEE JAC throughout, came to the outside at the 300m mark and finished off swiftly to win easily and in fast time. CHEROKEE JAC held down second after setting a good speed and WISH UPONA DREAM (3 back pegs) and ZAREM (4 back pegs) were third and fourth respectively. Both WISH UPONA DREAM and ZAREM will be competing at Melton tomorrow night.
Trial 4: - GUARANTEED END has been impressive at the trials and continued the run with a comfortable victory over CRUEL MISTRESS after settling four back on the markers and commencing a forward move from the quarter pole. CRUEL MISTRESS trailed the leader early before circling around to find the lead with 1100m remaining. She held down second with DIEING FEAR finishing in third. DIEING FEAR put in an eye-catching performance after settling in third, being held up for a run at a vital stage and finishing off strongly at the end. CRUEL MISTRESS will be competing at Shepparton on Tuesday night.
Mile Rate: - 2.0.1 Last Half: - 58.6 Margins: - 1m, Neck
BLACKBOOKER: - Dieing Fear
Trial 5: - REGAL ROCK NZ totally obliterated his rivals in the final trial. He led throughout and continued to gather momentum in the last lap, dashing well clear and scoring by an increasing margin of 130m. HEZA SECRET was second after trailing the leader and PLATINUM DANCER was last of the three runners throughout.
Mile Rate: - 2.0.3 Last Half: - 58.8 Margins: - 130m, 7m
MILDURA 01/07/24
Trial 1: - CAPTAINS GOLD has recently returned to trainer Ian Watson and he was going nicely at the trials in the Sunraysia prior to making his debut. He led throughout to win the trial clearly from DIAMOND KRUSHER, which sat in the trail throughout. YOUNG GUN LOU broke stride at the start, settled down in last position and moved up without cover from the 1200m mark. He showed some ability and was able to battle on nicely in the straight to finish in third spot.
Mile Rate: - 2.4.0 Last Half: - 59.9 Margins: - 8m, 9m
Trial 3: - ALL DA RAGE was clearly the class runner of the trial and was able to win clearly. He began quickly but couldn’t lead early, angled in to be three back on the markers then made his move with just short of a lap remaining. He sprinted quickly at the end and recorded a slick final half of 57.7 seconds. He will be backing up at Mildura this afternoon but is taking on a very strong field. SIR VINCENT showed very good gate speed to lead and finished second, nicely clear of the third placed HAWAIIANBEACH, which trailed the leader throughout. It was hard for the horses at the back to make ground with a slick final half but MARTHA LAVINIA was able to come from five back on the markers to pick up fourth placing. HAWAIIANBEACH and MARTHA LAVINIA are both racing at Mildura this afternoon.
Mile Rate: - 2.1.4 Last Half: - 57.7 Margins: - 18m, 10m
Trial 4: - SHALLOW POCKETS trailed the leader early and circled around to find the lead with 1200m remaining. He set up an even tempo and was able to hold on in the run to the finish. WATCHING THE BOYS led out then took cover mid-race. He was held up for a run at a vital stage before finishing fast through the middle and produced an eye-catching second. SHANDIIN BEACH settled three back on the markers and moved to the outside with 700m remaining. He finished in third with BORNTOBOOM (5 back markers) working into fourth position. WATCHING THE BOYS and SHANDIIN BEACH are both backing up at Mildura this afternoon.
Mile Rate: - 2.2.8 Last Half: - 61.2 Margins: - 1m, 2m
BLACKBOOKER: - Watching The Boys
MELTON ENTERTAINMENT PARK 01/07/24
Trial 1: - JAMES IN CHARGE began quickly to lead, took cover behind CAPTAIN MAASTRICT at the 1200m mark and came to the outside with 300m remaining. He was able to sprint home in a quick final quarter of 27.76 seconds to win the trial. The juvenile pacer STORMS COLLIDE produced a very good run for second after settling four back on the inside and trailing forward behind JAMES IN CHARGE in the last quarter of the event. CAPTAIN MAASTRICHT finished a close up third in a good finish.
Mile Rate: - 1.56.3 Last Half: - 55.98 Margins: - 1.5m, head
Trial 2: - HUGO MAGUIRE NZ appeared to be back to his best form with a win in slick time over the star juvenile pacer THE HIGHLIGHT REEL. He began quickly to lead, ran along at a genuine tempo and finished off in a sizzling final quarter of 27.16 seconds so he should prove hard to beat at Melton tomorrow night. THE HIGHLIGHT REEL settled three back on the markers, moved through to trail the leader on the home turn and used the sprint lane. He lost no admirers with his handy finishing second. DRAW A DREAM was third past the post after trailing the leader and coming to the outside with 300m remaining.
Mile Rate: - 1.54.7 Last Half: - 54.86 Margins: - 1.5m, 1.5m
Trial 5: - SUSAN IS HER NAME hasn’t raced since winning the Super Series Final in September but she delivered an awesome display in the fifth trial. She was five back on the markers, moved into the one out and one back trail at the 500m mark and produced a big finish in the final 300m. SHES RUBY ROO finished in second after working forward to find the lead shortly after the start. She is competing in a Group 2 event at Menangle on Saturday night. LADY VICI led out then took cover and battled on very well for third behind two top mares. IMPERIAL WHIZ NZ was four back on the markers throughout and was the fourth horse to cross the line. He is backing up at Melton this evening.
Mile Rate: - 2.0.8 Last Half: - 58.48 Margins: - 3m, 4m
BLACKBOOKER: - Susan Is Her Name
Trial 8: - The outstanding filly VERY PRETTY produced a breathtaking display to defeat her star stable mates THE LOST STORM and PERFECT CLASS. She settled three back on the markers, waited for the sprint lane and burst through to win seemingly with something in reserve with the last quarter being 26.62 seconds! THE LOST STORM worked forward to find the lead and ran a very slick final half but couldn’t repel the challenge of the filly. PERFECT STORM sat in the trail, came to the outside at the 500m and battled on strongly for a close up third.
Mile Rate: - 1.57.3 Last Half: - 53.84 Margins: - 3.5m, Neck
Trial 10: - The champion mare LADIES IN RED began quickly to find the lead and cruised through to trial to win softly, finishing off in a slick final quarter of 27.12 seconds. MAJOR DELIGHT settled three back on the inside, moved into the death seat at the 500m mark and battled on courageously for second with HURRICANE HARLEY being third across the line after trailing the leader throughout. MAJOR ROLL was last of the four runners for the duration but he wasn’t beaten by far in what was a hot field.
Mile Rate: - 1.58.3 Last Half: - 55.53 Margins: - 2.5m, 1.5m
Trial 11: - FIRE MARSHALL is an unraced juvenile colt for trainer Kyle Marshall, which created a good impression after leading throughout and winning by a big margin. EVILEYE trailed the leader throughout and battled on fairly well for second spot. She is competing at Shepparton on Tuesday night. OHANA BY THE SEA ran an eye-catching third after settling last of the seven runners and finishing off strongly via the sprint lane.
Last Mile: - 2.0.37 Last Half: - 58.86 Margins: - 11m, 4m
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