SHEPPARTON trainer Amanda Turnbull has a lot riding on Sunday’s racing at Maryborough, which will feature the Central Victorian pacers and trotters championship finals.
Turnbull will play a large part with a couple of former New Zealanders, including Alotbettor, who has only had three starts in Australia but has been ultra-impressive in winning them all.
Sunday will present his biggest challenge to date.
“It will be a big step up for him on Sunday,” Turnbull said. “He certainly has done everything we have asked him too, so it will be good to see how he goes.”
He was placed out of the draw in stand starts when in New Zealand but Turnbull didn’t envision that would pose a big problem.
“He has been pretty good away as he has had a lot of practice here,” she said.
“He stepped pretty good at Charlton in his heat, but he can still get a little bit excited so we have to be cautious with him.”
Oh Jonny B Good has to come off the 20m back mark on Sunday and while Turnbull was unable to put her finger on his poor first-up run – saying it was “one of those things” – she was pleased with his last start performance.
“He was super. He came off the 20m handicap there too and went really good, so hopefully they go hard and he can come home over the top.”
Turnbull admitted there wasn’t much between the two and that luck would play a major part on Sunday.
The other feature is the Trotters Championship, which looks a match race between the David Aiken trained Eljaykay Phoenix and My Tribeca.
Eljaykay Phoenix was a champion juvenile but he never quite recaptured that form as a three-year-old. Now aged four he seems to have returned to his best, but faces a tough task taking on Anton Golino’s outstanding young trotter, My Tribeca. She has been awesome in winning her four starts this term and was brilliant in her heat win.
On Sunday they will both start off handicaps, with Eljaykay enjoying a 10m head start on My Tribeca.
It will be an intriguing clash of two mighty trotters amid a monster day of racing at Maryborough, with the first on a bumper eight-race card to kick off at 1.13pm.
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