By Adam Hamilton
THANKFULLY nothing serious is wrong with buzz NSW pacer Lombo Kotakinablu.
When the injury-plagued emerging star was scratched from Menangle last Saturday night, many feared his tendon issues had flared again.
“No, definitely not,” trainer Shane Tritton said. “It’s nothing serious at all. He just seemed to have picked up a bit of a cough, so I didn’t want to take any risk at all.
“It’s been a long road to get him back to here so he can have a little let-up and then we’ll bring him back and go again.
“I’d like to have him back racing in the Les Chant (Cup, September 24).”
Just days before the latest minor setback, Tritton said Lombo Kotakinabalu would be nominated for the Perth Inter Dominion.
The seven-year-old had just one run in two years before returning this campaign and turning plenty of heads with four successive wins.
He won in miles of 1min50.6sec, 1min50.7sec and then last week was privately-timed to go 1min50.4sec (the electronic timer didn’t work) and won by 15.3m at his first test in free-for-all class.
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LAST week was a sad one with the death of one of Australia’s most popular pacers of the modern era, Karloo Mick.
The “Dubbo Destroyer” as many knew him even won hearts in NZ through his 2009 Ashburton Flying Stakes win. He ran sixth in the NZ Cup on that same trip.
Karloo Mick suffered a suspected brain aneurysm and had to be put down last Tuesday, just days before he turned 16.
“We buried him standing-up as warhorses don’t lie down,” owner-trainer Barry Lew told harness.org.au. “He is buried with all of his harness on, including his shadow roll and Murphy blind.”
Karloo Mick raced from three to 12 years of age in a career of 159 starts for 64 wins, 59 placings and $1.493,155 in earnings.
Among his many notable performances were a second to Smoken Up in the Miracle Mile, third in the Gold Coast Inter Dominion behind Mr Feelgood and Blacks A Fake as well as having the distinction of winning the last race ever run at Harold Park.
Fittingly, his racing career finished with a victory at Menangle on January 26, 2013.
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AS strange as it sounds given his stellar career, Chris Alford has never driven better.
Fresh from dominating Breeders Crown’s Super Sunday with three wins, Alford won a stirring battle with arch-rival Gavin Lang to snare Victoria’s metropolitan drivers’ title last week.
Alford and Lang went into the last meeting of the season tied on 47 wins, but it Alford’s one win on the Ballarat card last Wednesday – aboard two-year-old trotter Kheiron – which did the job.
“Gav set the pace for most of the season and even going into this last week, I thought he had better drives, but my treble on Crown day turned it around,” Alford said.
“I’ve lost count of how many times the battle for the title has been between us. I think it brings the best out in both of us.”
That final Ballarat meeting boasted six Breeders Crown Silver finals (consolations if you like) and Queensland’s Grant Dixon starred with two wins – Frankie Rocks (3YO colts and geldings) and Cherish The Moment (3YO fillies).
The best win of the night came from John McCarthy’s tough two-year-old Bettor Be Gold, who led throughout in the last race and posted a blazing 1min56.9sec mile rate for 2200m.
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CONON Bridge bounced-back from a lacklustre Breeders Crown performance to start the new phase of his career with a sparkling win last Friday night.
Connections opted to leave the four-year-old in Aussie with Brent Lilley, who continues to build a powerhouse team of trotters
Conon Bridge, with Anthony Butt aboard, led throughout to beat some quality opposition at his first run for Lilley at Kilmore last Friday night.
Lilley underlined his strength in trotting ranks by winning the Group 3 Scotch Notch Memorial (2240m) with veteran former US-import Kyvalley Blur, who is racing in career-best form.
Stablemate Maori Time was sent out favourite and led, but Kyvalley Blur powered home with Nathan Jack aboard to win by 2.1m in a 1min59sec mile rate.
He’s raced 82 times for 18 wins, 34 placings and earned $305,893.
Lilley is seriously consider a trip “back home” to Christchurch at Cup time for Kyvalley Blur with the Dominion the major target.
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GREG and Skye Bond continued their hot streak by winning the free-for-all with Phoenix Warrior at Gloucester Park last Friday night.
The six-year-old drew wide, settled well back and stormed home over his rivals to win by five metres in a slick 1min55.9sec mile rate for 2130m.
It was the second leg of a double on the night for the stable with the promising Delightful Offer easily winning the fifth race with young driver Lauren Jones aboard.
The Bonds are well placed to have several key home state Inter Dominion nominations headed by former Kiwi pair Our Jimmy Johnstone and the exciting Risk.
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IT is great to see one-time Victoria Derby heat winner Aztec Bromac back and firing.
The five-year-old, part of the powerhouse Kerry Ann Turner/Robbie Morris barn, whooshed home from last to win stylishly in a 1min52.3sec mile at Menangle last Saturday night.
He’s now two of his past three with the run in between being a ripping second to the exciting Alotbettor.
Turner snared a double on the night when her former Kiwi trotter Yogi Johnson – a daughter of former star mate Inda Bank – easily won the feature trot in a 1min56.3sec mile.
Beautide’s trainer-driver Jimmy Rattray also snared a driving double on the night, winning with his own horse El Jays Magic in race six and before that aboard Pete Rixon’s Exciteusinthecity in the free-for-all.
Speaking of Beautide, Rattray said the dual Inter Dom winner was just “a couple of weeks away” from returning to the trials.
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IAN Gurney continues to dominant Queensland’s fast-class races, but it is musical chairs as to which of his stable star wins the races.
Two weeks back it was Mach Alert leading throughout to beat Avonnova, but last Saturday night it was Ideal Scott leading throughout to beat Avonnova with Mach Alert back in fourth spot.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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