By Adam Hamilton
THE PATIENCE shown with former gun juvenile Bling It On is starting to reap rewards.
That was evident when the John McCarthy-trained sit-sprint stalked and out-pinged reigning Inter Dominion champ Lennytheshark in $50,000 Group 2 Smoken Up Sprint (1720m) at Melton last Saturday night.
Connections opted not to push Bling It On too hard last season and stayed home instead of going to the Perth Inter Dominion.
Now they are heading there with optimism.
“He’s been a great horse right from the start of his career,” driver Luke McCarthy told harness.org.au. “He won the Breeders Crown as a two-year-old, he’s gone over a million dollars. We gave him a good spell, he’s only had the three runs back this time and we think he’s going as good as he’s ever gone.”
It was McCarthy’s daring and brilliant drive which helped Bling It On upset a very gallant Lennytheshark.
McCarthy was able to the grab the one-one trail on comeback stayer Guaranteed and stayed in while Lennytheshark launched a big, sweeping three-wide run from the rear to hit the front,
He waited and waited, then peeled-off Lenny’s back and nabbed him late in a sizzling 1min51.4sec mile rate.
Lennytheshark’s effort was monstrous, while Guaranteed’s third run back from 21 months out injured was also encouraging.
Bling It On joined the army of NZ and Aussie eastern states horses on the plane to Perth last night (Sunday).
Bling It On’s part-owner Peter O’Shea enjoyed a golden night with his other exciting pacer Cruz Bromac brilliantly winning the Group 2 Casey Classic.
The five-year-old sat parked, ripped to the front on the home bend and held-on strongly to win in a brilliant 1min56.4sec mile rate for 2240m.
Cruz Bromac has always shown enormous potential, but been wayward at times. He looks to have matured and is ready to roar through the grades into the big league.
YOU get the feeling young star Beaudiene Boaz is still a year away from being a genuine Inter Dominion player.
For his all undoubted talent and fact this month’s Inter Dominion is in his own backyard, he still looks a way off being fully mature.
He’s no stranger to that scenario – the dominant young star in his own age taking a year or so in the big league to get the hang of it and make the transition.
Not all horses can be a Lazarus!
After dominating at three and four, the facts are Beaudiene Boaz has managed just one win from six starts this season.
Most of his runs have been very good, but it’s against hometown opposition only and the bar is set to rise significantly when the likes of Lennytheshark, Hectorjayjay, Ohoka Punter and Smolda step-out in WA.
Beaudiene Boaz was expected to win at Gloucester Park last Friday night when he finally drew well (gate three) and led as a $1.30 favourite.
Everything looked good in the early stages, but then he got keen, far too keen, and charged through a 27.2sec split between the 1200m and 800m.
He opened-up a big lead down the back straight with a 27.6sec quarter, but remember that meant a 54.8sec split between the 1200m and 400m.
It was impossible to keep going and as hard as he tried, stablemate Waylade emerged from the pack and ran him down in the final stages to beat him by 1.8m in a scorching 1min53.6sec mile rate for 2130m.
Remember Lazarus didn’t go that much quicker on a bigger and faster track when he posted a 1min52.4sec for 1950m in last Friday’s NZ free-for-all.
I am a big Beaudiene Boaz fan and hugely respect “Team Hall”, but it take everything to fall into place and plenty luck in the barrier draws for Beaudiene Boaz to be a serious threat in the Perth Inter Dominion final on December 9.
BRENT Lilley, fresh from a rewarding NZ Cup week with veteran trotter Kyvalley Blur, watched last Saturday night’s Group 1 Bill Collins Trot with mixed emotions.
While his star mare Maori Time led throughout to win, champion stablemate Keystone Del finished down the track and was found to have suffered from cardiac arrthymia.
Give how impressive Maori Time was – and remembering she easily beat Keystone Del at their previous meeting – you could argue there is a changing of the guard.
Driver Chris Alford said the win wasn’t without its drama.
“She started belting a wheel out of the gate and wanted to bowl along. She was alright to the winning post and then wanted to get going again,” he said.
Maori Time posted a record-breaking 1min55.4sec mile rate for 1720m with splits of 28.6, 29.7, 28.5 and 29.4sec.
It was a exciting night for the trotters with gifted Italian-bred mare My Tribeca winning easily in a fast 1min58.4sec mile rate for 2240m and former Kiwi gelding Uncas also impressing in a 1min59.1sec mile rate in race four.
DON’T sell former Kiwi stayer Our Jimmy Johnstone short as a Perth Inter Dominion “smokey.”
The eight-year-old had a fantastic winter campaign before a spell and has returned to win his past two runs in great style.
The latest win came when he worked to the front and posted sizzling times to win last Saturday night’s $50,000 Group 2 Bunbury Cup in a 1min55.4sec mile rate.
It capped a superb weekend for the Greg and Skye Bond stable, who also landed a treble at Gloucester Park last Friday night.
Top young mare Dodolicious, a star last season, made it two from two this term when she sat parked and dug-deep late in quick time to win the fourth event in a 1min55.5sec mile rate for 2130m.
The Bonds also won with Mighty Major, who beat stablemate Heez About To Rock, in race two and Vanquished in the sixth event.
As well as Our Jimmy Johnstone, the Bonds also have Simply Susational and Risk all in peak form ahead of the Perth Inter Dominion.
Another Inter Dominion hopeful to shine last Friday was the injury-riddled but gifted John Of Arc, who made it two impressive wins in a row for new trainer Clive Dalton.
John Of Arc drew wide, sat parked, worked his way to the lead and beat a gallant Risk in a 1min56.4sec mile rate for 2130m. They ripped home in 55.3 and 27.5sec.
It was also great to see another comeback horse, highly-talented Swedish-bred trotter Cardigan Boko, blitz his rivals again in the ninth race
Cardigan Boko, also trained by Dalton after starting his career with Chris Lang Sr in Victoria, was beaten at his first run for 11 months and has since won three on end.
Last Friday he worked to the front from a wide draw and powered away to win by 19.4m in a slick 1min58sec mile rate for 2130m.
Not only is he WA’s best trotter by a mile, but the way he’s come back he will competitive with Australia’s best when and if connections take him to Melbourne.
THE excitement continues to build around Lombo Kotakinabalu.
Co-trainer Shane Tritton firmly believes the injury-plagued seven-year-old will make a Miracle Mile horse.
Lombo Kotakinabalu only enhanced that when he led throughout to make it five wins from his past six starts at Menangle last Saturday night.
Importantly, the gelding stretched to the 2300m in the Group 3 Tony Turnbull free-for-all and dominated.
Lombo Kotakinabalu ran comfortable times early then ran the last three quarters in 28.7, 26.8 and 26.8sec to beat Monifeith by 2.7m in a 1min55.5sec mile rate,
Stablemate Arms Of An Angel returned with an impressive win in moderate company last Tuesday.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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