Harness Racing Victoria •

Holloway to keep no secrets about No Telling Heather

The Holloway crew is hopeful a horse that started as a secret and quickly found her way into the headlines will recapture some old form in tomorrow night’s Nutrien Equine Classic Final for three-year-old trotting fillies. No Telling Heather broke her maiden while taking out the $62,500 Nutrien feature as a two-year-old in August last year, but has won just one race since and heads into the $150,000 showdown at Melton on the back of three below-par runs this campaign.
Harness Racing Victoria •

Sanderson to head north for a State of Origin-style challenge

Still on a high after winning the Mildura Pacing Cup, Abby Sanderson is now preparing to represent Victoria in a harness racing challenge for concession drivers. The 18-year-old will join fellow Victorians George Chamouras, Tasmyn Potter, Harry O’Neill and Grace Bilney for two heats in Young tonight, with the following rounds to be staged at Shepparton on Wednesday. The series is named in honour of Nic Dewar, who tragically lost his life in a car accident in 2018.
Harness Racing Victoria •

Croft's connection with Markovina almost 50 years in the making

Colin Croft is hoping that Final Collect can emulate the form of his star pacer Markovina in a race named in honour of the 1978 Inter Dominion winner. Final Collect is trained by 22-year-old Leilani Justice and will line up in TAB Markovina Free For All on Saturday night at Melton. The now 91-year-old raced Markovina and has fond memories of his 1978 Inter Dominion heroics. “He was a great little horse,” Croft said.” Markovina was just one out of the box and he was trained by Brian Gath. He w
Harness Racing Victoria •

WATCH: Social media in a frenzy, but it's all in a day's work for Barry

Clerk of the Course Barry Sambrooks and his noble steed Tom had to think quick to rein in a loose Macho Maori at Charlton on Wednesday. Sambrooks used all his experience to capture the runaway standardbred after he tipped out reinsman Brent Murphy at the start of the second event. The four-year-old cut through the middle of the track before Sambrooks finally caught up with the gelding, bringing him to a halt in front of spectators lining the fence along the home straight. “I missed him the fi
Harness Racing Victoria •

Tormey and Manning to represent the green and gold in NZ

Victorian drivers Ellen Tormey and Kerryn Manning will be part of Team Australia in the inaugural running of the Dororthy Cutts Invitational for women at Cambridge, New Zealand on Friday. Tormey and Manning join fellow Aussie locals Brittany Graham and Amanda Turnbull as part of the traveling party heading across the ditch. The 33-year-old Tormey got the call-up after Kate Gath declined the offer in order to partner Catch A Wave in Western Australia this Friday. The trip isn’t the first foray
Harness Racing Victoria •

Ileana ready to make an impact on debut at Ballarat

Ileana will have her work cut out in a heat of the Billies Legends Nutrien Equine series for two-year-old pacing fillies at Ballarat. That’s the thoughts of trainer-driver Ken Tippet, who reckons the pacer is showing all the signs of being a real force in 12-months’ time but will find it tough in Thursday night’s qualifiers. “It’s going to be hard for her. She has trialled okay, she does everything okay and she is a professional little horse, but we have been thrown in the deep end,” Tippet sa
Harness Racing Victoria •

Boot Legging the one to keep your eye on in the future

Philip Chircop is looking to the future ahead of Wednesday's Nutrein Equine Haras Des Trotteurs heats for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings at Bendigo. Boot Legging is set to make his debut and according to the Bunding trainer the run will be all about experience. “He will be making up numbers as far as I’m concerned,” Chircop said. “He is a nice horse. He is not quite ready, but he is trotting well.” Boot Legging is by Volstead out of Fortunate Phoenix, who never graced the racetrack
Harness Racing Victoria •

Laura finds her confidence in a special bond with Jay Jay

The unspoken bond between horse and human often defies words and that's certainly true in the case of Laura Fish and Jay Jay. Laura has been diagnosed with autism and selective mutism and her mum, Mary Jo Fish, has shared how a special friendship has helped her break through barriers. “It’s more of a situational mutism, so Laura can talk when she is relaxed and she knows the place and the people,” Fish said. “That can take years to happen, so she also has a lot of academic needs as well"
Harness Racing Victoria •

Jack ready to show off the next generation of stars at Bathurst

Nathan Jack has his next generation of stars ready to lead a northern assault on Bathurst's two-year-old Group 1s Saturday night, eager to emulate the stable's 2023 success. His Gold Crown hopeful Sanchez, a colt by Captain Treacherous out of Senora Rapido who was bought at the 2021 Nutrien Equine sale for $160,000, finished second in his March 22 heat and Jack is optimistic about an improved effort in the $150,000 final. “He has had a lot better week this week, he had a bad week last
Harness Racing Victoria •

Phoenix to rise above before a trip across the Tasman

A fab Victorian four will have their final hit-outs at Melton on Saturday night before taking on the best at home and abroad. The Andy Gath-prepared Catch A Wave will make his way to WA for the million-dollar slot race, The Nullarbor, on April 19, while Better Eclipse, Just Believe and Arcee Phoenix are stepping out one last time before heading across the Tasman for New Zealand’s The TAB Trot and The Race by Grins on April 12. Arcee Phoenix’s trainer-driver Chris Svanosio is happy with the fiv
Harness Racing Victoria •

Bond Girl to be shaken not stirred into form at Stawell

Larry Lynch is hoping his often inconsistent mare Bond Girl will have a licence to thrill when she steps out in Stawell’s unique heats-into-final one-day series on Good Friday. The mare will feature in heat one of the Stawell Toyota Pleasant Creek Plate at 2.07pm, with the second heat to follow before the top five from each progress to the final at 5.32pm. “She is going all right, she had a trial down at Bacchus Marsh on Saturday, she ran second down there,” Lynch said of Bond Girl, who’s unra
Harness Racing Victoria •

Chadwick's special connection to a very Good cause

They are the words of Harness Racing Victoria chief steward Peter Chadwick, who’s reflected on the remarkable support the Royal Children’s Hospital has offered his family. “It basically means the white matter in her brain is degenerating and she has gone from walking four years ago to being in a wheelchair now,” Chadwick said. Alicia recently had major surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital, where she has had 35 specialist appointments over the last 12 months. Chadwick paid tribute to that
Harness Racing Victoria •

French optimistic Mildura can yield maiden success for his boy

Terry French hopes start 27 can finally be the magical number that his gelding, Illtellyousumthing, breaks through for a maiden victory when he scores up in the Mildura Bowls Carnival Maiden Pace on Wednesday night. The 59-year-old has had the five-year-old for half of his 26 starts since taking over training duties from Alex Ashwood, with French optimistic his boy can break through after four previous seconds and five thirds.
Harness Racing Victoria •

Tipsy to chase Group 1 glory before the sun sets on her racing career

Tipsy Turvy will look to add a Group 1 to her resume before a trip to the breeding barn in Saturday night’s $75,000 Aldebaran Park Sumthingaboutmaori Mares Trotters Free For All at Melton Entertainment Park. The Maree Caldow-prepared six-year-old is ready to go ahead of the 2760m feature. “She is going well and she hasn’t had much luck in her last few races, but we are happy with where she is at,” Caldow said. The squaregaiter has drawn barrier 10, giving Maree’s husband and reinsman John an
Harness Racing Victoria •

Duffy to Serg to the front at headquarters on Saturday night

Ryan Duffy will likely be all guns blazing for the front when he and Serg Blanco team up in the TAB Captain Sandy Free For All on Saturday night at Melton. Duffy, who is driving for trainer and father Steve, will start from gate three with the six-year-old gelding. “Looking at the draw I would say, straight off the paper talking to dad, that we would be leading,” Duffy told Toby McKinnon on SEN TrotsLife. “Hopefully his fitness is where it needs to be, he is probably drawn to being in front.”
Harness Racing Victoria •

Marshall and Bach ready to bring the sizzle to Queensland

Bach is quickly emerging as a top-end talent here in his new home of Victoria and plans are being made for a tilt at Queensland’s winter carnival through the middle of the year. The New Zealand import claimed his second victory from three starts on our shores when he overcame a difficult spot three back along the pegs to chase down the Kevin Von Duve-prepared Springfield Affair in last Saturday night’s Pryde’s EasiFeed Pace. The result took the five-year-old’s record to 32 starts for 10 wins a
Harness Racing Victoria •

Alfnalma ready and raring ahead of inaugral running of The Pearl

A six-day break hasn’t affected Alfnalma ahead of The Pearl Final at Melton Entertainment Park this Saturday night, according to trainer-driver Jason Ainsworth. The five-year-old mare finished third in a heat of the series at Birchip on Sunday behind winner Thesunandthemoon to qualify for the inaugural running of the $20,000 feature. “She has pulled up the best she has pulled up in a while. For whatever reason she didn’t have a hard run, so she is pretty good,” Ainsworth said. Alfnalma has dr
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