By Adam Hamilton
THE hopes of a “local” win in the upcoming Melbourne Inter Dominion gained more momentum with sparkling wins by San Carlo and Wrappers Delight this week.
San Carlo is into $7 equal second favourite for the final with Let It Ride and behind only Tiger Tara ($5) on the Aussie TAB. Wrappers Delight is right in the mix at $11.
San Carlo won a heat of last year’s Perth Inter Dominion final before drawing poorly and not being a factor in the final, but he’s clearly a better and more complete racehorse now.
That was underlined when he crushed a small field, which included the tough and in-form In The Boss, in slick times in last Thursday’s Yarra Valley Cup.
He’s three wins from as many starts this campaign and has won 24 of his 36 career runs.
At Yarra Valley he did all the work, but powered clear to win by 4.8m without being extended by driver and co-trainer Bec Bartley in a 1min56.8sec mile rate for the long 2650m.
“We’re very happy with the way he’s come back. He feels terrific,” Bartley said.
San Carlo will have one more run before the first round of Inter Dominion heats at Melton on December 1.
That will be in either the Popular Alm free-for-all at Melton next weekend or the Geelong Cup a week later.
Wrappers Delight continued his rapid rise with an arrogant win in the $75,000 Group 2 4&5YO Championship at Melton last night.
It followed a booming second to Shadow Sax from a back row draw in the Smoken Up Sprint.
Last night driver Kima Frenning punched through from the back row, kept surging forward in a very slick 42.5sec lead time to find the front and never looked in danger.
Wrappers Delight raced away to win by almost eight metres over an eye-catching Diamond N Cash in a sharp 1min54.4sec mile rate for 2240m.
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THE Rando family’s hopes of having two runners in the Inter Dominion trotting series looks a light brighter after last night.
First came the impressive win of the rejuvenated veteran mare Rompers Monarchy in the Group 3 La Coocaracha Mares’ free-for-all at Melton.
The Rando clan specifically sent her south to try and impress and climb the rankings for the Inter Dominion and she delivered.
The Kiwi-bred nine-year-old led throughout in a 1min58.1sec mile rate and zipped home in 57.1 and 28.2sec to win easily over the classy Red Hot Tooth, who sat parked. Hot favourite Dance Craze ruined her chances by galloping at the start.
Up at Menangle, the Randos won the trot with Kowhai Monarch in a 1min59.6sec mile rate for 2300m.
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WE are continually given reasons to marvel at the powerhouse Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin training team.
And one-time buzz mare Delight Me gave us yet another reason with a spectacular return from more 15 months on the sidelines to win at Melton last night.
It was no “soft” return either. They picked the Group 3 Cinderella Stakes for her return and had to content with reigning Ladyship Mile champ Carlas Pixel.
But Delight Me worked to the front, kept bowling along and made it a one-act affair, cruising home with plenty left in the tank by 4.1m.
Her 1min52.3sec mile rate was just 1.6sec outside Cruz Bromac’s Melton track record.
“We’ve always thought the world of her, but she’s had a few setbacks along the way,” Emma Stewart said. “She’s been really pleasing us at home and it’s such a thrill to see her go back to the races and win like that.”
Make no mistake, Delight Me has the potential to be Australia’s best mare is she stays sound.
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WHAT a lovely touch at Bendigo last Friday night where they ran a “veteran” drivers’ race won by the legendary Brian Gath.
How fitting it was Gath, who lives in Bendigo, led and held off Lance Justice and Noel Shinn to win.
Others in the race were: Geoff Webster, Jim O’Sullivan, Glenn Conroy, Ginger Gleeson, David Jack and Mark Hayes.
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TEAM Tritton’s two Inter Dominion players, Franco Nelson and My Alpha Rock, won’t race again before the opening round of heats at Melton on December 1.
Shane Tritton said the emerging My Alpha Rock was scratched from Menangle last night after a minor hiccup, but would primed for the Inter Dominion.
“We just had to treat him so, like Franco Nelson, we’ll take him fresh into the Inter Dom,” he said. “We think they’ll both be very competitive with luck in the draws.”
Tritton said Gotta Go Ya Hu would bypass the series and be saved for a quest to make the Miracle Mile field.
“The Victoria Cup run showed he wasn’t as mature as the other two, so we’ll keep him to races up here and aim for the Miracle Mile,” he said.
“We are considering paying the late entry for Maximan because he’s going so well, but it’s tricky because we’re not sure where they will rank him and you lose the $20,000 late entry fee if you don’t make the cut. We’ve got until November 19 to make the late payment.”
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CHAMPION driver Luke McCarthy is starting to work out the All Stars former classy pacer Cash N Flow.
“I think you’ve got drive him quite aggressively and put him into the race,” he said before Cash N Flow won impressively at Menangle last night.
“He won really well at Melton when I went to the breeze then I was disappointed with him when we sat him up last week, so I wanted get serious at the start this time,” McCarthy said.
Cash N Flow led and McCarthy increased the tempo from the 1200m with a 28.7sec split then zipped home in 54.4 and 26.6sec to win easily in a 1min56.4sec mile rate for 2300m.
“He was a nice horse in NZ and we’ve got a good opinion of him. He’s going to have some fun in the free-for-alls here if he keeps running up to this sort of form,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy teamed with trainer Craig Cross for a double on the night after talented young mare Darkershadeofpale won the forth event in a slick 1min52.8sec mile.
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TRAINER Gary Hall Sr thinks he has a Golden Nugget “smoky” in the Kiwi-bred Ideal Liner.
The son of American Ideal went to the races for the first time at Gloucester Park last Wednesday and turned plenty of heads, overcoming a very tough run to win in a 1min56.3sec mile rate for 2130m.
“Not many horses can do that at their first start,” Hall Sr told Gloucester Park TV.
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IT’S great to see one-time “whiz kid” Mark Reed back and driving winners at Gloucester Park.
Reed, son of prominent WA trainer Mike Reed, was a megastar young driver before losing his way and having time out of the sport.
But he’s back and showed he’s still got it with a drive of real poise to win the feature race, the $30,000 Group 3 York Cup, aboard family horse Maczaffair last Friday night.
“It’s good to be here tonight,” Reed said. “I got really crook last week and had some time in hospital, but I bounced-back well and to come here and win for the team with this mare is fantastic.”
Maczaffair finished too strong for a very gallant Eden Franco, who sat parked in a slick 1min55.1sec mile rate for 2130m.
Trainer-driver Kyle Harper also enjoyed a big night with a double on Thereugo and Ace Bromac.
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