By Adam Hamilton
SHE came, she saw and she conquered, but she still stay here a bit longer?
That about sums it up for champion Kiwi mare The Orange Agent, who arrogantly completed a cleansweep of Victoria’s mares’ triple crown with victory in the $100,000 Group 1 Queen of the Pacific (2760m) at Melton last Saturday night.
Now fans are hoping connections will turn a possible into a definite and head to Sydney for two races, including the Group 1 Len Smith Mile at Menangle on June 25.
That would mean a clash with the likes of Lennytheshark, Hectorjayjay, Tiger Tara and others.
“The way she’s been going, if she got the right run she would make a race of it with Lenny,” The Orange Agent’s driver Chris Alford said.
Alford, of course, is committed to driving Lennytheshark if they do clash.
While The Orange Agent sparkled winning her first two mares’ races at Melton this trip, she looked more workmanlike last Saturday night.
The was effectively over when Alford made an early move around from a back row draw and took the front from Rocker Band.
Alford kept rolling, skipped away with a big lead on the last bend, and The Orange Agent seemed to loaf a little when well clear of her rivals down the home straight.
She beat a game Rocker Band by 6.5m with another metre away to NSW visitor My Lucky Belle in third spot.
It’s worth noting The Orange Agent’s 1min56.9sec mile rate stacked-up against the 1min55.1sec track record set by Bling It On winning the Hunter Cup on February 4, this year.
The Orange Agent’s record is superb at 33 starts for 23 wins, six placings and o ver $730,000 in stakemoney.
WHAT a golden time it’s been for Chris Alford.
This time last week he reached 6000 career wins, last Thursday it was his 49th birthday and last Saturday night he teamed with his wife, Alison, for her first Group 1 as a trainer.
That win came with promising two-year-old trotter Wobelee in the $50,000 Vicbred Home Grown final for colts and geldings.
Alford just missed completing the Home Grown trotting double when he finished second on David Aiken’s Allthemoves behind NSW raider Viksun in the fillies’ final.
YOUNG trainer Anton Golino is quickly making the Group 1 NSW Trotters’ Oaks his own.
He’s had three cracks at the race for a second and two wins.
The second came at his first attempt with My Tribeca in 2015, then Golino trained Pizza Queen.
Golino not only won the race again last Saturday night with the untapped Une Belle Allure, but he snared the trifecta with Kinvara Sue finishing second after leading and Nieta in third spot after sitting parked in a 2min1.1sec mile rate for 2400m at Menangle.
Une Belle Allure, by superstar trotting sire Angus Hall, has won five of her nine starts.
The win also continued a huge season for young driver Zac Phillips, who teamed with Une Belle Allure for his first Group 1 win in the Need For Speed final back on March 11.
Golino teamed with Phillips to win another of the features at Menangle when Glenferrie Burn found the lead midrace and scored easily in the Group 3 La Coocaracha for trotting mares.
IT’S about 30 years since former butcher Bill Horn hogged the harness spotlight with his champion pacer Village Kid.
Horn’s horsemanship became legendary as he nursed Village Kid through lots of setbacks and kept him racing – a winning good races – into his teenage years.
Now Horn’s horsemanship is back on full display again with WA pacer Heez On Fire, who was written-off as a “what could have been” horse until given to Horn for last shot at racing.
Despite being riddled with injuries, Horn has not only resurrected Heez On Fire, but he arguably has the seven-year-old racing better than ever.
The son of Courage Under Fire completed a hattrick of free-for-all wins at Gloucester Park and beat prove Grand Circuit stars like Ohoka Punter, Run Oneover and Beaudiene Boaz in the process.
Heez On Fire’s greatest asset has always been his blinding acceleration and it’s back.
Driver Aldo Cortopassi needed to call on all of that speed to storm home and beat Run Oneover, who led at his first run back from a spell and carved out some blistering splits.
Heez On Fire snatched victory by a neck with another neck away to a gallant Ohoka Punter in third spot, who sat parked throughout in a blazing 1min54.3sec mile rate for 2130m.
There is a long way to go, but if Horn can keep Heez On Fire sound and firing like this, he will be a major factor in the Perth Inter Dominion at the end of the year.
ANOTHER injury-plagued pacer fans hope to see a lot more of is Victoria’s San Carlo.
The rising seven-year-old has raced just 14 times for trainer Steve O’Donoghue, but his easy Shepparton win last Friday night made it 12 wins.
There was some specking for the son of Mach Three in early Hunter Cup markets at the start of the year, but he was again sidelined with injury.
San Carlo’s strength and ability to carve out blistering splits underline his potential to be a feature race player is he stays sound.
FORMER Kiwi trotter Clover Mac snared his biggest win since moving to Australia when he impressively won the Group 3 Coulter Crown (2760m) at Melton last Saturday night.
He’s now raced 10 times for Kate and Andy Gath for five wins and two seconds.
“I thought he was going to win at Cranbourne (Trotters’ Cup) last week, but I wasn’t sure how would go along the sprint lane, so I came to the outside, just clipped a wheel and he broke,” Kate Gath said.
Clover Mac sat three fence for the first half of the race before Gath moved to sit parked and he was simply too strong and classy in a 2min1.5sec mile rate from the standing start.
AS the huge Harness Jewels Day draws closer, one of last year’s winners, Custodian, is continuing his winning form in Australia.
The son of Muscle Mass won the Jewels 2YO trotting final for the All Stars’ barn and remained in their care to win the Breeders Crown final on August 28, last year.
He stayed in Victoria after the Crown and joined the stables of Amanda Turnbull and Nathan Jack, but was given a long spell.
Custodian resumed with a dominant Maryborough win on May 3 and followed with another easy victory at Bendigo last Wednesday where he won by 7.3m in a slick 1min59.3sec mile rate for 2150m.
Turnbull and Jack spoke with NZ officials about a possible return to the Jewels this year, but are instead focused on upcoming Aussie features like the NSW and Victoria Trotters’ Derbys.
THE countdown to another stoush between Australia’s glamour fillies Petacular and Miss Graceland has already started.
The pair will lock horns again through the upcoming Vicbred series and while Petacular “owned” Miss Graceland through most of their careers, Miss Graceland turned the tide with a dominant Victoria Oaks win on April 7.
Miss Graceland returned from a freshen-up to win softly by 11.9m in a 1min58.4sec over 2150m at Bendigo last Thursday against older rivals.
Trainer-driver Mick Stanley said Petacular was also very close to resuming.
The Vicbred heats start next month with the semis at Melton on June 6 and the $110,000 final also at Melton on July 8.
Another big name headed to the Vicbred series is Victoria Derby and Breeders Crown 2YO winner winner Our Little General.
Emma Stewart’s pint-sized colt returned from a spell to win as he liked in a slick 1min55.3sec mile rate for 2160m at Hamilton last Thursday.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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