By Adam Hamilton
TIM Butt’s dream of a sixth Hunter Cup win is alive if he wants to chase it.
His stable star My Field Marshal returned from an untimely hoof injury with a powerhouse Menangle win.
The way he did it showed he was right back on song for Saturday week’s Hunter Cup, however Butt is not certain to head to Melbourne.
“He went great, but the Hunter Cup is 50-50. We will decide later in the week,” he said.
My Field Marshal, first-up since early November, settled back from a wide draw, moved around to sit parked in the middle stages then blazed home in 54.0 and 26.3sec to win with authority.
The other huge talking point of the race was the lacklustre showing of Perth Inter Dominion third placegetter Tiger Tara.
First-up since that Perth run, Tiger Tara was snagged back from an outside draw and never any influence on the race.
Although it was very hard to make any impression in a 54sec last half, Tiger Tara was 16m away from the winner and beat home only one rival.
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THE decision to skip the Ballarat Cup and go a Melton free-for-all instead could be the move which secured Moonrock a Hunter Cup.
If the former promising Kiwi pacer was borderline for a Cup berth, the arrogance of his Ray “Rocky” Baker FFA win (1720m) at Melton last Friday surely turned the tide.
Moonrock won as he liked by 6.2m and again showed his ability to carve out blazing splits with a 26.2sec closing quarter at the end of a 1min54.8sec mile rate.
The five-year-old has gone from strength to strength in Sonya Smith’s care with 11 starts netting six wins, three seconds and two fourths.
Moonrock’s emergence will present Anthony Butt with a driving choice to make between him and My Field Marshal if both contest the Hunter Cup.
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CHAMPION driver Kerryn Manning could have a big decision to make come Ladyship Mile time at Menangle.
If, and it remains an if, her stablemate Ameretto is fit in time, she will have to choose between her another outstanding young mare in Our Golden Goddess.
As fantastic as Ameretto has been this season, Our Golden Goddess has looked awesome with four wins from as many starts this campaign.
Last Friday night’s win was that of a mare as good as any this in part of the world.
Despite sitting parked, Our Golden Goddess burned down the back straight in 27.1sec and replicated the split for the last quarter to win as she liked in a 1min56.2sec mile rate for 2240m.
Our Golden Goddess’ superb Aussie form won’t surprise Kiwis who watched her match it with the best at two, three and four in NZ before being switched to Manning’s care.
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SHANE Tritton decided to change this up a little … and it seems to have worked.
“We decided to do it a bit differently and bring the horse into our big Carnival fresh,” he said.
The result was a trio of ultra-impressive winners at Menangle’s feature meeting last Saturday night.
First out was speedy grey mare My Rona Gold, who led, just kept bowling and ran her rivals ragged to win easily in a blazing 1min50.7sec mile.
It was a huge win considering the opening splits of 26.1 and 27.6sec made for a 53.7sec first half.
My Rona Gold and the emerging Reaza Grunter, who won easily later in the night, look genuine Ladyship Mile contenders.
Reaza Grunter led, but Lauren Tritton opted for vastly different driving tactics by dawdling through a 59.1sec first half. She ripped home in 54.7 and 27.3sec for a 1min53.8sec mile.
Despite the times, Tritton rates Reaza Grunter superior and right up there with his former superstar mare Arms Of An Angel.
The Trittons’ other win came from buzz former Kiwi gelding My Alpha Rock, who has looked awesome winning both runs for the stable.
This time he blasted to the front and won unextended by five lengths in a 1min51sec mile and 54.5sec last half.
Tritton’s sights are split between Melbourne and Sydney now with his consistent open-class performer Yayas Hot Spot bound for the Hunter Cup.
Yayas Hot Spot ran a bold race when second to My Field Marshal in the free-for-all at Menangle last Saturday night.
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ATOMIC Red was a virtual unknown when he upset Ultimate Machete in a heat of the NSW Derby almost a year ago.
He’s been sparingly raced since, but has all the makings of a Grand Circuit horse with his strength and tenacity.
Trained by Steve Turnbull and driven by his daughter, Amanda, Atomic Red showed rare courage to lift off the canvas and win the Group 3 Hondo Grattan at Menangle last Saturday night.
Just when it seemed the Shane and Lauren Tritton-trained Gotta Go Ya Hu was set to win, Atomic Red kicked-back after working hard in a sizzling 1min50.3sec mile to win by a nose.
The shock of the race was Tim Butt’s hot favourite Let It Ride, who made a lightning midrace move to find the lead, but was in trouble at the top of the straight and tired to finish a clear last.
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IT was only fitting My Tribeca won a feature race at the same meeting Heaven Rocks won the Ballarat Cup.
Both have stacks of talent, but have continually tested the patience of their connections.
My Tribeca looked a ball of talent early days, but headstrong and wayward manners have limited her impact.
So trainer Anton Golino got quite a buzz from her last-stride win in the Group 2 Cochran Trotters’Cup at Ballarat.
It took a superb Nathan Jack drive to extricate her from a cosy pegs run on the home turn and snatch victory from buzz trotter and $1.50 favourite Sparkling Success in the last hop.
The Italian-bred My Tribeca won six of her first nine starts, but only four of 19 since then.
Given the dearth of elite trotters at present, she can be a force in all the upcoming features if – and it remains an if – she can keep putting it all together.
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