by Ken Casellas
Mon Lillies has led in six of her ten wins, but Boyanup hobby trainer James Sortras is far from dismayed at her drawing the back line in the $25,000 final of the Johnson Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“She’s not just a frontrunner,” Sortras said. “She’s also got a very good sit and kick on her. She showed that when second at Pinjarra two starts ago.”
Mon Lillies, a six-year-old mare by American sire Artesian, has proved a remarkable bargain for Sortras who purchased her as an untried two-year-old for an extremely small figure. Her stylish all-the-way win last Friday night boosted her earnings to $93,355 from ten wins and 18 placings from 73 starts. Another victory this week would take her prizemoney to $109,855.
The 56-year-old Sortras grew up in Gelorup in a strong harness racing atmosphere. His late father George was a prominent trainer and driver whose best pacer was Magic Embrace.
“I drove a lot of horses bred from Magic Embrace, with the best of them being Come On Magic,” he said. “I suppose you could count the number of winners I drove on country tracks on my two hands.
“I got out of the sport more than 15 years ago to concentrate on my job in the building trade, to pay off the mortgage and to provide for a young family.
“Then, four or five years ago, I decided to get back into harness racing. When I was looking around for a horse, a good mate of mine, Stephen Simms, recommended an unraced two-year-old filly, whom, he advised, possessed plenty of speed, but had a lot of growing to do and needed to mature.”
It was arranged for Sortras to drive the filly on the Byford track. “I gave her a workout and she gave me a pretty good feel,” Sortras said. “So that day I put her on the float and brought her home. I bought her for a very cheap outlay. She now has gone past her dam Mon Poppies, who had 69 starts for ten wins, 21 placings and $88,350 in stakes.”
Lindsay Harper was in the sulky when Mon Poppies won at Bunbury and Pinjarra as a three-year-old in February 2005, and Harper’s younger son Kyle has driven Mon Lillies to victory eight times.
Mon Lillies impressed in a heat of the Johnson Pace last Friday night when she set the pace and dashed over the final 800m in 56.7sec. to win from Sea Cider and Madame Croupier. At Pinjarra four days earlier Mon Lillies illustrated her versatility when she started from the No. 5 barrier, raced three wide for the first 300m and was eighth in the one-wide line at the bell. She was seventh with 400m to travel and was hampered for room in the home straight before getting clear in the final stages and flashing home to be second to Just bet On Black.
Sortras, who races Mon Lillies in partnership with his wife Debbie, her daughter Lucinda and his children Ebony and Colbey, also trains and drives Five Star Fairy, who has yet to break through for her first win.
The Johnson final looks an open affair, with four-year-olds The Spinster (Chris Lewis), Madame Croupier (Clint Hall) and Shes Artful (Ryan Warwick) all racing keenly and five-year-olds Sea Cider (Michael Grantham), Giuliana Rancic (Gary Hall jun.) and C C Chevron (Nathan Turvey) in sound form.
Seven-year-old Auctioneers Elsu, to be driven by Maddison Brown for Cardup trainer Sarah Suvaljko, will also receive good support after drawing the prized No. 1 barrier. Auctioneers Elsu notched her 15th victory from 151 starts when she enjoyed an ideal passage, one-out and one-back, before finishing strongly to win from C C Chevron at her most recent outing, on April 13.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
