SA Harness Highlights - 26 November 2007

Surgery Continues Amazing Northern Record

Two Wells trainer-driver Gary Buckley re-ignited an unimpressive season for his five-year-old mare Surgery by making the trip to Port Pirie last Friday night.

Surgery started the season with an honest record of 10 wins and 14 placings from 42 starts, but in four starts since September, all at Globe Derby Park, had finished no better than fifth.

The first meeting of the year at Port Pirie’s Phoenix Park came about just in time for the daughter of Armbro Operative, who has an outstanding record at the northern circuit. In 10 starts there prior to last weekend, Surgery has won six times and finished runner-up at the other four.

The mare obviously appreciates the wide-open spaces of the Port Pirie track and kept her record intact with a two-metre victory in the final event on the program.

Buckley registered a running-double of sorts by winning the first race at Globe Derby Park the following night with Debutante Ball. Aided by the poor manners of favourite Art And Soul, Debutante Ball led throughout for a three-metre victory.

 

Huge Crowds Ahead of Schedule

The recent warm weather and onset of daylight saving has encouraged big crowds to attend Globe Derby Park’s Saturday night meetings in the past month.

With the Paceway Restaurant enjoying their busiest period of the year, many families have also seized on the opportunity to take in the exciting harness racing action in the comfortable summer conditions.

Eskys, deckchairs and kids have plentiful on the expansive lawns, well ahead of the usual influx of fans over the traditional Christmas-Summer Carnival period later in the year.

 

Mighty Run by Mighty Aslan

The Shane Young-trained and Gina Bell-driven Mighty Aslan showed his class at Globe Derby Park last Saturday night with a ‘mighty’ performance.

Parked three-wide for the entire trip, the eight-year-old gelding had the audacity to kick clear of his rivals in the home straight to register a 1.5-metre victory in a rate of 1:59.1 which was just 0.3 seconds outside his career best.

Mighty Aslan appreciated the drop in class from his last start where he was far from disgraced with a ninth placing in a Moonee Valley stand start event. Bell also drove the veteran of 103 races like he was the best horse in the race and didn’t panic when stranded wide on the track.

Mighty Aslan returned to SA recently after 12 months in Western Australia and his form has steadily improved under Shane Young’s care which culminated in last weekend’s super effort.

 

Access Civil Italian Cup Night

South Australia’s fast class pacers will step onto the Globe Derby Park track this Saturday to contest a new look Italian Cup night.

The fixture has regularly been held around the New Year period, but this year has been switched back to the early December in a move to revive what used to be one of South Australian harness racing’s biggest nights.

The honour roll includes names such as Bonamax, Carvils Choice, Keep It Up, Ryans Day and Friends For Life, with last years winner Free Loader embarking on a successful Victorian campaign following his Italian Cup win.

In recent years the event has been lost in the spotlight of the Group 1 South Australian Cup, but will create it’s own mark on the calendar this year thanks to the support of Access Civil along with Access Aluminium and Glass Pty Ltd.

Access Civil will be the naming rights sponsors for the 2007 Italian Cup and Access Aluminium and Glass will have their name on a support race, while Caffe Primo at Salisbury have also jumped onboard to sponsor the co-feature Rome Trotting Cup.

The lone local contender at this years SA Inter Dominion, Conte De Cristo, will no doubt be the horse to beat in the Access Civil Italian Cup. The big striding seven-year-old enjoyed a week off from the track in preparation for the event that will also reward fast times with $3500 in speed incentives.

Another Inter Dominion class pacer in Dee Dees Dream scorched the track in Conte De Cristo’s absence last Saturday night recording an effortless 17-metre victory off a sizzling 57.4 second last half. However connections are likely to miss a return effort in preference to an attempt at three consecutive City of Launceston Cups in Tasmania the following week. That is unless horse restrictions on the Apple Isle force a rethink.

Whatever the make-up of the field, the race and the entire program should showcase some sensational South Australian harness racing.

 

 

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Neal Conder

HRSA Ltd

 

SA Harness Highlights - 19 November 2007

Smith Celebrates Early

Kapunda reinsman Matthew Smith celebrated his birthday a few hours early when he steered six-year-old Bizzell to the horses second successive victory at Gawler Landscaping Supplies Sportspark for fellow-Kapunda local Peta Brown.

Just a fortnight after John Hurrell partnered the gelding to an all the way Saturday night victory at Globe Derby Park, Smith used similar tactics by punching out from barrier one and leading throughout for a two-metre victory.

The win was an early birthday present for the Port Pirie-born youngster who turned 18 the following day. Smith had just one drive at Globe Derby Park on the night of his birthday, steering outsider Safe Ebony to fifth place for Toby Ryan in the last event.

Matthew Smith has now recorded three winners for the season after racking up 10 winners in each of his first two seasons in the sulky.

 

Kearney and Thuen Return to Fire Again

Return Fire survived a small mishap on Saturday night and proceeded to record his third straight victory for the Linwood-based Kearney family. At the luxurious UniTAB price of $9.30, the eight-year-old had to pass a vets examination to take his place in the field after slipping in the float on the way to the track.

The Andrew Kearney-trained gelding has dominated November, winning at every attempt this month despite being relatively unfancied on each occasion. Return Fire started at his shortest quote of $6 last week when he won his second Saturday night race for the year after winning at $12.60 eight days previous.

With 20-year-old Kearney only holding a B-Grade drivers licence and unable to drive the eight-year-old on Saturday night metropolitan meetings, experienced reinsman David Thuen has taken the reins the past two weeks.

In almost identical circumstances Thuen sat Return Fire on the back of the leader before outsprinting them in the home straight. Last week it was Just Trumps who was outgunned with an outside run, this week Precipation was overhauled with an inside dash.

The recent success of Return Fire may be due to Kearney picking up some handy training tips from Australia’s premier trainer David Hayes, for whom he has worked at Lindsay Park for nearly 12 months.

 

Caffe Primo Serve Up Trotting Feast

Italian Cup Night at Globe Derby Park on Saturday, December 1, continues to grow with another sponsor and feature event added this week by Harness Racing South Australia.

Danny Silvestri from Caffé Primo at Salisbury has jumped on board to sponsor the 'Rome Trotting Cup', a new feature race on the program.

The Caffé Primo Salisbury Rome Trotting Cup will be a T3 or better event for the best squaregaiters in the state over the testing 2645-metre journey under discretionary handicap conditions.

The $8,000 stake for event means it will compliment the $8,000 'Access Civil' Italian Cup as a co-feature on the first Saturday night in December.

 

Finally It’s Freddy

Before last Saturday night veteran pacer Freddy Rama had not won a race since April 2003 when he defeated Vanlo Yorker and The Falcon Strike in a handicap event at Gloucester Park.

Backmarker, The Falcon Strike, had just returned from a creditable fifth in the AG Hunter Cup and started an odds-on favourite. Following the defeat to Freddy Rama, The Falcon Strike went on to win a Newcastle Mile, Fremantle Pacing Cup, two Australian Pacing Championships, two WA Pacing Cups and ran second in an Inter Dominion Final on his way to banking more than $1.2 million in stakes.

Freddy Rama didn’t win another race.

That was until Two Wells trainer-driver Pat Carbone led on him from start to finish at Globe Derby Park last Saturday night breaking and four and a half year drought.

The eleven-year-old was claimed by Murray Bandick two months ago and transferred to Carbone’s stable. Freddy Rama is now a veteran of 217 starts, from which he has won 13 times and placed on a further 37 occassions.

 

Fitzy Off To A Flyer

Ahead of Port Pirie’s season opening Phoenix Park meeting this Friday night, local trainer Paul Fitzgerald got a head start with three-year-old pacers Art For The Heart and Cha Cha Charlie winning at Globe Derby Park last Monday afternoon.

Both youngsters were winners during their two-year-old seasons – Art For The Heart scoring four times and Cha Cha Charlie once – and started off their three-year-old campaigns in the best possible style.

Art For The Heart, the only racing progeny of Vicbred placegetter and Ouyen Cup winning mare Meet Me In Paris, was the first of the duo to win. With Paul Cavallaro in the cart, the filly worked hard out of the mobile before settling behind the leader, and then using the sprint lane the last time for victory.   

Fitzgerald’s purple and gold colours were back in the winners circle the very next race with Cha Cha Charlie saluting, again with Paul Cavallaro steering. A half brother to 2006 SA Horse of the Year Oztreos, Cha Cha Charlie nearly threw the race away with some erratic racing in the home straight, but held off his challengers to give Fitzgerald and Cavallaro the running double.

With the first Port Pirie meeting for the season on their front door this Friday night, both pacers look set to line up in a three-year-old event, while a rarity for Northern harness racing enthusiasts will be a trot on the program. Squaregaiters have not been seen at Port Pirie for a couple of seasons and the race should generate plenty of interest.

 

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Neal Conder

HRSA Ltd

 

SA Harness Highlights - 5 November 2007

Convinced She’s A Winner

Paralowie trainer-reinsman Barry Preston pulled off one of the training performances of the year when he piloted trotting mare Shedontnosheslitle to a maiden victory at Globe Derby Park last Monday afternoon.

Despite placing at three of her four starts as a two-year-old, Shedontnosheslitle developed an inclination for breaking gait early in races, and failed to pick up another cheque in a further 18 starts for her trainer, driver and owner Peter Tidswell.

Preston, an Account Manager with Cadbury-Schweppes when not training winners, bought the talented but erratic five-year-old from Tidswell early in the season and immediately set about reforming her manners.

Preston bypassed the trials with Shedontnosheslitle and the pair made their first appearance at the track last week where Preston was quietly confident of a promising result.

The first hurdle was out of the way when she safely negotiated the start and rolled to the front. The odds-on favourite, Four Carat, settled on Preston’s back but he kept his charge rolling along in front at a genuine speed and they were never headed.

The only hiccup came within the shadows of the post, when Preston got a little anxious in the cart and Shedontnosheslitle galloped across the line.

“I thought I was driving Wrekognize,” Preston said, in reference to his veteran trotter who may have handled the vigorous driving a little better.

A subsequent protest from the David Harding, driver of second placegetter Four Carat, was dismissed and Shedontnosheslitle had officially recorded her first victory.

 

Giorgio Doubles Up

Honours went to SA Harness Racing Club vice-president Bronte Giorgio at last Friday night’s Globe Derby Park meeting, with the local horseman recording a driving double and a training double, through three different races.

Giorgio kicked off the night in style with confident winning drive – a third consective victory and fourth for the season - on five-year-old mare Art And Soul for Two Wells trainer Kevin Dempsey.

In race three on the program, Giorgio was again in the winners circle with Karamea Dreamin, another mare but this time trained by himself. It was the six-year-old’s first win since July last year and came after five placings from her first seven starts for Giorgio.

With a driving double already in the bag, Giorgio was presented with a training double when Tony Calabria piloted Burningthebreeze to an all the way victory in race five on the program.

 

Ups and Downs of Racing – Part 1

Going home with an empty float is one of the hardest things to deal with when entering horses in claiming races, however if your charge wins the race in your colours before going elsewhere it makes the task a little easier.

For those not familiar with a claiming race, it requires an owner to put a price on his horse – within the conditions of the event – and any other person can lodge a ‘claim’ for that horse and take immediate possession of the horse following the race if their claim is successful.

Exuberant Poplar entered the Barastoc Phar Lap Claiming Pace having his 44^th start for the Gawler Belt-based Shane Young and Gina Bell team since joining them in April 2006, with the nine-year-old a regular earner for the stable due to three wins and 15 placings in those 44 starts.

The veteran won a fourth race for his trainer and driver partnership of Young and Bell on Friday night at Globe Derby Park, however Exuberant Poplar was claimed from the race by a Whyalla stable.

The positives of claiming racing is it gives horses that have reached their mark the opportunity to continue racing with the trainer setting their handicap, but you just never know when your horse may be racing for someone else the following week.

 

Ups and Downs of Racing – Part 2

Dublin trainer-reinsman John Hurrell experienced the highs and lows of harness racing within 24 hours last weekend, with a tailed off last on Friday night quickly erased by an all the way victory on Saturday night.

Hurrell went to Globe Derby Park on Friday night with four-year-old gelding Don Belard, who previously had just the one infamous start when he broke in the score up and was placed out of the draw.

Despite trialling well since, Don Belard was up to the same tricks last weekend when causing a false start at the first attempt and then missing the start again at the second attempt before trailing throughout and finishing 77 metres from the winner.

However Hurrell’s disappointment only lasted 24 hours when he teamed with the Peta Brown trained Bizzell to win at Globe Derby Park the following evening. Leading all the way, Hurrell gave the six-year-old a comfortable first half before holding off Flight Edition and Sweet Chilli at the finish.

The win by Bizzell was his first since joining Brown’s Kapunda stable in the middle of the year and just his second from 25 career starts.

 

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Neal Conder

HRSA Ltd