By Matt Markham
Mark Jones has double the reason to smile these days.
After battling through last season without the full support of his two stable stars the Burnham and Woodend Beach horseman is now getting excited about a spring racing campaign which will see both doing battle with the best at the front of the coal face.
And in both cases things will really heat up this weekend.
Dominion Handicap favourite Master Lavros will have his first appearance for the season at the Mt Hutt trials on Saturday with the Derek Jones Memorial Banks Peninsula Cup a likely first-up target.
Just 24 hours afterwards, Jones will find himself at Oamaru as Saveapatrol begins his bid to claim a berth in the New Zealand Trotting Cup with a run in the Group 2 Hannon Memorial.
And if Wednesday’s trial at Rangiora is anything to go on then the big pacer isn’t just there for a quiet hit out.
The former Invercargill Cup winner looked mighty impressive when he dashed along the passing lane to edge out a brave No Doctor Needed in a heat which featured seven Cup contenders.
“That’s the step in the right direction I wanted to see from him,’’ Jones said.
“We missed a workout last week due to the weather and I wondered if we were a bit behind the eight-ball heading into the Hannon, but based on that we look like we are on target.’’
Jones is adamant that the version of Saveapatrol he’s conditioning now is a lot better than the one which raced at Auckland late last season and pointed towards the horse’s appearance as one of the more notable factors.
“He just looks so much better than he did up there. Soundness wise he’s really good at the moment, we try and keep him pretty fit to keep as much weight off his legs as we can because he is such a big horse.
“But I’m happy with where we are at so far, my only concern about Sunday is how we will go getting away from barrier one.’’
That task will be left to the horse’s regular driver, Blair Orange who like Jones was happy with the effort.
“He felt really good and was nice and relaxed too.
“Just short of the post he went to knock off a bit but when I gave him a wee slap he was back into it.’’
Now a six-year-old, Saveapatrol will be out to recapture the form that saw him run third behind Terror To Love and Adore Me in the Auckland Cup last year, but for owner Grant Hatton just having him back at the races is great in itself.
“What will be will be I guess,’’ Hatton said.
“But seeing him look so good and perform like that is certainly encouraging.’’
Equally as happy as the Saveapatrol camp was John Dunn with the effort of No Doctor Needed.
The up and coming pacer sat parked outside Franco Nelson from the 1000 metre mark and fought like a caged tiger to the line to go down by the barest of margins.
“He’s come back really well, he feels nice and strong.
“I don’t think he’s going to be a superstar of the open class ranks but he is going to do a good job every time he steps out and if things go his way he’s good enough to maybe win a big race.’’
Dunn has yet to make a decision on whether he commits to No Doctor Needed or remains aboard Venus Serena who finished fifth in the heat.
Tiger Tara, who tracked up on the back of No Doctor Needed finished in third placing with Franco Nelson fourth and Venus Serena fifth.
Both Brilliant Strike and Mach’s Gladiator made mistakes from the stand start and finished back from the first division.
Earlier in the day, Dominion Handicap bound trotting mare, Kincaslough looked stunning when leading all the way to win her heat.
Driven by co-trainer Aimee Edmonds, who trains in partnership with her father Craig, the daughter of Love You trotted straight to the front from her handicap and kept her rivals at bay the entire way up the straight.
Returning mare, Habibti put in a solid performance to finish second in her first outing for a while and Harrysul ran home strongly to finish third.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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