By Mac Henry
Canterbury junior Matt Anderson was in action for less than five minutes at Winton on Sunday but it was long enough for him to win two races from the same number of engagements.
Michelangelo took just 2:58.1 for his victory over 2400 metres in the Auckland Reactor Oldest Crop Are Two Year Olds Pace while Pulp Fiction scored over a mile in 1:55.2.
Like Anderson, Michelangelo is from Canterbury, brought south by Russley trainer Steve Dolan who said the $45,000 purchase at the 2014 premier sale was finally fulfilling his potential.
Dolan recalled Michelangelo broke in well and was unreal as a yearling.
“He went from hero to zero at two,” Dolan said, referring to the Art Major gelding’s tendency to hit his knees, and some of the psychological issues he had. After giving Michelangelo three starts at three, Dolan recommended he be put aside for six months to develop.
The gelding needed spreaders but that didn’t concern Dolan.
“I’d sooner have a fast horse with spreaders than a slower one without them,” he said, “he’s got a good motor and a great recovery.”
Dolan said a Futurity on Show Day was on the radar for Michelangelo but he’s got some steering adjustments to make before then.
“He’s still very green, a horse in the making rather than now,” said Anderson, who had made the trip south in response to a call from Tony Stratford, trainer of Pulp Fiction. The 10-win entire had a C6 rating and was only eligible for the Macca Lodge Mobile Mile if driven by a concession junior driver. Restrained to the rear early, Pulp Fiction improved to lead at the 600 and clocked 55.6 and 27.1 for his closing sectionals.
“Tony had him at 100 percent, I never asked him for an effort,” Anderson said.
Anderson was one of four drivers to get doubles while Matt Saunders was the only trainer. The first Saunders winner was Pocket Caesar in the Winton Top Pub C0 claimers. The six year old was claimed for $6000 by Art Shirley as agent.
Saunders had two runners in the Central Southland Freight Handicap and one of them, Superior Desire, was upset when involved by the 10 metres tape at first dispatch. A false start was called and not surprisingly at the restart, Superior Desire was hesitant to take part. He backed into the favourite Arden’s Concord who was subsequently declared a late scratching. Meantime, the other Saunders runner, That Cat, took control after 400 metres, dictated terms and lasted by a head.
Both Saunders winners were reined by come-back driver Andrew Suddaby whose previous winner, Good Togo Washington, was in March 2011.
Blair Orange got two with his first being Another Delight in the Winton Workouts Committee Trot for owner and trainer Robert Wilson of Balfour.
“I told Blair to hold on to her for the first 400 metres and he’d have no problems,” said Wilson who has about a dozen in work, “including the jog teams. About a half of them are trotters”. Another Delight moved to a C2 rating, the same as stablemate Spotlight The Valley.
Ross Wilson of Whiterig bred, owns and trains Annie Fitz, winner of the He’s Watching At Alabar Pace, but Robert Wilson confirmed he is not even a distant relation.
The second winner for Orange was Betta Go Fernco in the Rock N Roll Heaven Standing at Alabar 2016/17 Pace. She is a daughter of I’m A Star who was driven to success by Orange at Forbury Park in 2008, one of her six wins. The five year old Betta Go Fernco was bred by Brian and Liz Ferns and is raced by them in partnership Harness Racing New Zealand Board member Murray Swain and his son Aaron.
Murray Swain trained I’m A Star’s first foal, Fernco Bobby G, to win two or her four new Zealand starts. She has won another seven in Australia, one in 1:52.6 at Menangle.
Betta Go Fernco is trained by Aaron and was his first runner for the season. Last season was his first as a trainer, his runners started seven times, and he had a win at Ascot Park with Beau Cishlom driven by Zac Butcher. Swain junior has a commercial eeling quota and broke in about 30 horses last season but said he is keen to reduce that number and increase the size of his racehorse team.
For all that, Swain acknowledges the help of his father in the win of Betta Go Fernco, because of an incident that happened in 2011. He was working for Hamish Hunter at the time, got his foot stuck in footrest, and has had trouble with an ankle ever since. Finally, on 18 July, it was operated on and the leg was put in a cast. The cast was removed just last week and fair to say he was feeling no pain on Sunday.
Brad Williamson was the fourth driver to rein two on the day, Sam Galleon in the A W Kyle Builders Trot and Pulling The Strings, who clocked 2:57.3 when winning the Sportswriter Standing at Alabar 2016/17 Mobile.
Clark Barron had trainer-driver success when Crime Scene took out the Trevor Proctor Painter Pace on Debut. The three year old was co-bred by his brother Tony and spotted grazing at Macca Lodge by Allan and Liz Sloan, who subsequently bought him. Crime Scene’s dam Gross Misconduct won one in New Zealand and another 10 in Australia. He is her third foal and third winner.
Clark Barron describes Crime Scene as tough and better than average and says the times he can run suggest he is capable of developing into a Supremacy Stakes class horse.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
