By Tayler Strong
Solento, who was switched from trotting to pacing recently, qualified with a sound solo effort at Forbury Park on Saturday.
Solento recorded 2.56.6 for 2000m, 1.7sec inside the required time.
“We switched her to pacing about three weeks ago,’’ said Lyndon Durham, her Milton (Otago) trainer, part-owner and breeder.
A 6-year-old mare by CR Commando from Rock On Abby, Solento won two workouts as a trotter but failed to make the grade in a qualifying test at Oamaru in July.
She is a half sister to Valmagne, who has won 12 races and $192,000 as a trotter.
Peter Gillespie has been appointed chairman of the board of management of the Forbury Park Trotting Club. He succeeds Tony Dunstan, a Dunedin professional director, who resigned. Dunstan had been on the board for two years. Gillespie, a veterinarian, is the immediate past president of the club. Other members of the board, with appointments requiring approval by Harness Racing New Zealand and the NZ Racing Board, are Tony Gow and Geoff Knight, both committee members of the club and Gerald Cayford (president). There has in the past been an appointment outside the club, usually an accountant or lawyer.
Daryl Trainor has resigned from the committee of the club. He was vice-president and has been a committee member for 11 years
“I have a different business philosophy to those now in charge of the club and we all need to be on the same page,” said Trainor. He had been in charge of stabling arrangements and organised trials. Graeme Anderson is another elected committee member to depart this year.
Kristin Burt has been appointed secretary of the Otago Trotting Owners Association. She was a licensed trainer, later assisted the stable of Anderson, but stood down to give birth to a boy. Darryn Simpson is the new president of the OTA, succeeding Aaron Johnston.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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