Photo: Stuart McCormick
Derek The Jet puts his unbeaten record on the line again tomorrow night.
Exciting young trotter Derek e Jet puts his unbeaten record on the line again tomorrow night in the $50,000 Aldebaran Park Need For Speed Prince nal at Melton.
The Nathan Jack-trained and driven son of Volstead made it eight wins from eight starts when he took his heat of the colts and geldings three-year-old classic at Melton last Saturday night with a scintillating 1:57.1 effort over the 1720m trip which included a mind boggling 56.9 last half.
Derek The Jet has drawn favourably in barrier three in a small field and will start a short favourite.
Derek The Jet was one of three winners Jack trained last weekend.
He also produced two of the three heats winners in the Eugowra Canola Cup in central NSW on Sunday.
The Jack-prepared Bathurst Gold Crown winner Chart Topper and Rocknroll Raider won their heats with Amanda Turnbull in the sulky and will contest the $30,000 final on Monday, a public holiday in NSW.
The draw was being made yesterday.
Chart Topper, a three-year-old by Captaintreacherous was a $1.50 chance in notching his fourth win from 17 starts with seven minor placings including three seconds for more than $106,000 in prizemoney.
Rocknroll Raider, a Rocknroll Hanover three-year-old, has had only the nine starts for three wins and four minor placings.
Jack didn’t make the trip to Eugowra, but drove trotter Strzelecki Sun to victory for Chris Hunter at last Sunday night’s Cranbourne meeting.
And he extended a big weekend into Monday’s Cobram meeting with a driving treble.
He landed Cee Cee Lou a winner for Avenel trainer Greg Norman, Rocknroll Kiss for Shepparton mentor Wayne Potter and trotter Astro for Kilmore conditioner Bill Milner.
Shepparton’s Wayne Potter landed a training double at Cobram.
Apart from winning with Rocknroll Kiss, he produced Honest Harriette to bounce back into the winner’s circle with his daughter Tasmyn doing the driving honours.
Both were at nice odds with Rocknroll Kiss paying a handsome $12 and Honest Harriette paying $5 for the win, her fifth success.
Goulburn Valley trainers and drivers had a big day at Cobram with Locksley trainer John Nissen, Shepparton’s Bec Bartley and Congupna’s Eddie Tappe also enjoying wins.
Bartley drove the talented Nissen-trained Locksley Cavalier to an easy win in blistering 1:58.5 mile rate time for the 1670m trip to open his winning account at his fifth start in a race for maiden three-year-old trotters.
Locksley Cavalier had shown with two second placings he was a gifted young trotter, a son of top sire Love You and the winning Angus Hall broodmare Im Lady Angus.
Congupna horseman Eddie Tappe has been enjoying a good run with his team of late and at Cobram produced three-year-old pacer Im Dustee for his fourth win.
Top reinsman James Herbertson won an early battle for the lead with the three-year-old son of Mr Feelgood and comfortably held the David Moran-trained and Nathan Jack-driven Ronnie The Hammer and Lenny Lincoln in the run to the judge.
Im Dustee’s winning mile rate of 1:57.3 for the 1670m trip was a PB.
Herbertson drove a double at the meeting, also winning on the Ted Jepsen-trained favourite Soho Playgirl.
Echuca trainer Mick McMahon and reinsman Steve Lindberg combined to win with Rockstar Leo at Cobram.
With three minor placings leading into the race Rockstar Leo was overdue for a win and with a bold front running display and a determined finish posted his second win and first since joining the McMahon barn.
A son of Yankee Rockstar, Rockstar Leo posted a PB 1:58.6 mile rate for the 1670m trip with the win.
Smart pacer Meteor Moth remained unbeaten after winning the time-honoured Reg Withers Three-Year-Old Classic at last week’s Kilmore Cup meeting.
The Emma Stewart-trained son of American Ideal, driven by Mark Pitt, showed electric gate speed to clear the field from an outside front row barrier draw and proved too slick for his rivals over the 2180m trip, accounting for the
nd strong-finishing Elmore-trained Our Luciano and the odds-on favourite Hes From Heaven.
It was only the pacer’s fourth start and he has saluted in all of them.
NSW trainer James Grimson quinellaed the $75,000 Kilmore Pacing Cup with a former member of the Stewart team Major Moth and District Attorney, while the champion Andy Gath-trained French import Callmethebreeze outclassed his rivals in the Kilmore Trotters Cup from a 30m back mark.
Nagambie trainer Kylie Sugars produced a winner at the Kilmore Cup meeting with three-year-old trotting filly Ikigai, yet another of the Volstead breed, who made it four wins and four placings from 16 starts with her triumph.
Sugars’ brother, leading reinsman Greg Sugars, drove Ikigai to her latest victory.
Coomboona trainer Mark Gledhill completed back-to-back wins with pacer Our Christiano at last week’s Charlton meeting.
The five-year-old Alto Christiano mare had won at her previous start at Shepparton on September 10 and made it five wins with 11minor placings with her latest success.
Gun reinsman James Herbertson first partnered Our Christiano three starts ago when second at Shepparton and has driven the pacer to her past two wins.
Gledhill bred and owns the pacer which makes the wins that more special.
He went close to a training double at the meeting with another of his runners, Aliza Hill, running second to the Shepparton-trained Sharp Interest.
Trained by Steve Duffy and owned and bred by Nathalia trots stalwarts Peter and Sue Ryan and driven by Ryan Duffy, Sharp Interest was having his second start after breaking stride at his debut on September 18 after locking sulky wheels.
Reinsman Duffy worked the two-year-old filly by Stay Hungry, a son of Somebeachsomewhere, to the front early and he was never in danger of being run down after that with a 56.6 last half and a 1:57.8 mile rate.
Elmore-trained pacer Tooram Cee Cee broke an 11-race drought when he scored last week at Charlton.
Driven by Alex Ashwood for trainer Keith Cotchin, Tooram Cee Cee held the front running position from barrier one and was never in danger of being run down after that.
A four-year-old son of Betterthancheddar, Tooram Cee Cee’s last win was 12 starts previous at Echuca in late March, but he has still been a consistent money earner since then with six minor placings in that winless period.
His career record now stands at four wins and 12 minor placings from 26 starts.
Three-year-old Sportswriter gelding Scoop Linden shed his maiden status in impressive style at last week’s Bendigo meeting.
Trained by Tatura horseman Craig Turnbull and driven by Abbey Turnbull, Scoop Linden cleared his rivals just after barrier rise and was never in danger of being run down after that after producing a slick 1:55.4 mile rate for the 1609m trip.
His first six runs had produced four minor placings, so a win was in the air.
Scoop Linden is out of the winning
Mach Three mare At First Start who has left only one other foal.
Stanhope horseman Gary Pekin was relieved the course commentator got it wrong when he declared Barwen Storm a winner at this week’s Albury meeting.
Pekin was driving stable star Cresco Threepeat who had put up a huge run to fight out the finish with Barwen Storm, who finished along the inside.
But the photo-finish revealed Barwen Storm had in fact been beaten by Cresco Threepeat who made it 19 wins when he got the verdict.
The eight-year-old has also had 31 minor placings and is only less than $2000 short of joining the $100,000 Prizemoney Earnings Club.
Rochester trainers Neville Pangrazio and Caitlin Guppy landed winners at this week’s Swan Hill meeting.
Pangrazio scored with four-yearold Downbytheseaside mare Ivana Bytheseaside, who was overdue for another win after three successive placings leading into the race.
Guppy made it successive wins with Noble Julia, driven by Liam Older, who partnered the eightyear-old Julius Caeser mare to victory at her previous start at Shepparton.
Noble Julia’s 80 starts have now produced five wins and 10 minor placings.
Today: Mildura (d), Geelong (n)
Tomorrow: Melton (n)
Sunday: Cranbourne (d)
Monday: Yarra Valley (d)
Tuesday: Shepparton (n)
Wednesday: Bendigo (n)
Thursday: Kilmore (n)
