By Adam Hamilton
MIRACLE Mile champ My Field Marshal set another record even in defeat at Menangle on Saturday night.
He blazed off the gate from the extreme outside draw to find the front in the fastest official opening quarter ever run in Australia.
My Field Marshal’s mindblowing 24.6sec opening split took 0.2sec off the previous mark set by Hectorjayjay in the 2017 Miracle Mile.
Just as it proved too much for Hectorjayjay that day, it also saw My Field Marshal beaten, but only just and by a much-improved pacer.
Match In Heaven, previously known as a speedy sit-sprinter, has thrived since being driven more aggressively in recent months and sat parked to beat My Field Marshal by two metres.
The overall mile was a cosy 1min52.8sec in Menangle terms, but that’s because Anthony Butt threw out the anchors with splits of 31.3 and 30.6sec after the early burn.
The race billed as a showdown between My Field Marshal and the emerging Majordan, but that changed once Majordan tried hard to hold-out his main rival in that blistering first quarter. Majordan was 10.8m away in fourth spot.
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SOME say Ignatius could be the best three-year-old in Australasia.
Yes it’s a massive call, but there is something seriously X-factor-ish about the best pacer to come out Tasmania since the mighty Beautide. And, like Beautide, he’s now in the Jimmy Rattray barn.
To say he’s better than the likes of Chase Auckland, Poster Boy, Colt Thirty One, Lumineer, Colt Thirty One and others is bold, but a look at his Penrith win in a heat of the NSW Breeders Challenge last Thursday is well worth it.
This was no ordinary win.
Ignatius covered plenty of ground, did all the work and blasted away to win – seemingly with plenty left in the tank – by 15m in track record time. His 1min53.6sec mile rate around the tiny, right, old-school track sliced 0.8sec off the record.
It was his 11th win from just 12 starts.
Ignatius only defeat came when a luckless third in a NSW 2YO Breeders Challenge heat, but he atoned by blasting past Sicario to win that final in a 1min52.6sec mile.
Most were surprised when he didn’t appear in the Victoria or NSW Derbys, but he’s making up for now and has the NSW Breeders Challenge and Queensland Derby to come.
Next step is a Breeders Challenge semi-final, then the final on the huge Len Smith card at Menangle on July 1.
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HUNTER Cup winning star Bling It On passed a big test in the eyes of regular driver Luke McCarthy at Menangle last Tuesday.
McCarthy was very disappointed with the seven-year-old’s tiring sixth when he resumed from a spell at Menangle on May 19.
So he made last Tuesday’s Menangle trial a measuring stick workout.
“I needed to see enough to keep him going and he did that,” McCarthy said. “I went there to give him a solid hitout and find out more.”
McCarthy worked forward from gate six to eventually find the lead after an opening 28.3sec quarter then kept rolling through a 28.5sec second split.
Bling It On went 28.4sec for the third quarter then McCarthy clicked him up for a 26.9sec last quarter where he held-off the fast-finishing former Kiwi mare Rocker Band to win by 1.4m in a slick 1min52.1sec mile.
“There’s a 2300m race for him this week we’ll probably head to. He’s not suited to the really fast miles around Menangle these days,” McCarthy said.
“If we’re happy with him, he could go to Queensland for the Blacks A Fake.”
So it seems you can take Bling It On out of calculations for the $100,000 Group 1 Len Smith Mile at Menangle on July 1.
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YOUNG gun trainer Anton Golino watched and cheered in NZ on Harness Jewels day as his filly Pretty Majestic snared the $60,000 Group 1 Victoria Trotters’ Oaks (2240m) at Melton on Saturday night.
Golino, who had Dance Craze finished a luckless third in the 4YO Jewels Trot, continues to emerge as the biggest force in Australia trotting ranks.
Pretty Majestic, a daughter of Majestic Son, scored by a half-head over Andy Gath’s Moonlight Dream in a moderate 2min3sec mile rate.
It capped a big night for Golino, who also trained five-year-old Skyvalley mare Aldebaran Eve for an upset win as a $38 shot in the Group 2 4&5YO Mares’ Classic.
Nathan Jack drove Aldebaran Eve and also teamed with Golino to win last night’s Group 2 Tatlow 2YO Trot with Always Ready, a Ready Cash colt.
Another impressive Melton winner was the rejuvenated Brallos Pass, who scorched over 2240m in a 1min54.9sec mile rate to win the fast class race.
Meanwhile Emma Stewart caused a minor upset in the Vicbred Platinum final when Flying Moth led throughout in a 1min53.1sec mile rate for 1720m.
Hot favourite General Dodge, who toyed with Flying Moth in the heat, ran well below his best in sixth spot and stewards queried the run.
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LEVIATHAN owner-breeders Emilio and Mary Rosati notched another big milestone when Cherry Stride sparkled in a 1min51.8sec mile to win the Group 3 Go Girlfriend final at Menangle Saturday night.
“That’s the fastest mare we’ve ever bred and KerryAnn (Turner) and Robbie (Robbie) have done a superb job with her,” Emilio Rosati said.
Cherry Stride led for Morris and ripped home in 54.6 and 26.8sec to beat favourite Elle Yeah by four metres.
Other notable wins on the night at Menangle included Tim Butt’s classy four-year-old Let It Ride in a 1min51.7sec mile and rejuvenated veteran Ultimate Art in a career-best 1min50.3sec mile.
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ART Major filly Majorpride gave young gun WA trainer Justin Prentice one of the biggest wins of his career in the $100,000 2YO Diamond Classic for fillies at Gloucester Park last Friday night.
Prentice had four of the 12 runners in the race and drove sixth-placed Fulfil The Dream while Gary Hall Jr partnered the winner.
Majorpride picked the right time to break her maiden given she’s been placed in five of six starts before holding-off favourite Typhoon Tiff last Friday night.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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