The Final Quarter

Each week Harness Racing New South Wales takes you through some of the highlights from all the meetings across the state, the big bets – good and bad – as well as some to follow. Lets’ start!

Mr 500 and has cake and doesn’t eat it too!

The countdown has been on for a few weeks and Nathan Turnbull finally reached his milestone of 500 winners at Parkes last Friday.

Lucky Cruz was the pacer to do it and Nathan didn’t have much time to enjoy the special 500 winners cake Parkes Harness Racing Club presented to the driver after the race because Nathan was back out on track winning the following event with Faire La Fete.

The Turnbull turntable hits fast forward

On the back of Nathan Turnbull’s milestone success, he added to another feat at Bathurst on Wednesday night.

After his Rixon cousins recently drove a winner each at Penrith, Nathan set the benchmark for his siblings to follow through at their local track with his younger brother Mitch and younger sister Amanda all drove winners, taking out five of the eight races on the program.

Nathan trained and drove a double with Bomani and Chase The Feeling. Amanda achieved the same result with Captain Oh Captain and Fasika, while Mitch won on the Steve Turnbull-trained The Rainbow Beach.

Just recently their cousins Ellen, Hannah and Will Rixon, drove a winner each at Penrith on October 7.

Harty party continues

Talking of juggernauts, the Jarrod and Harty party force continued at headquarters on Saturday night.

Trainer Jarrod Alchin and driver Cameron Hart won three of the four Breeders Challenge Semi-Finals at Menangle.

This gave Hart four winners on the night after also tasting success with Rocknlachlan.

The Breeders Challenge Semi-Finals winners for Alchin and Hart were My Ultimate Byron, My Ultimate Ronnie and Madrid.

Leaving his mark on Riverina form

The Breeders Challenge series has been producing some great results and credit where credit is due, The Stain earned his spot in the Breeders Challenge Semi-Final with a strong heat win at Riverina Paceway last Friday.

His consistent form paid off and his winning mile rate of 1:55.1 was the fastest of the day and now heads to the big lights at Menangle.

Talking about domination, at that same meeting trainer David Kennedy and driver Jackson Painting were a strong combination landing a treble together.

Their success was with Miss Hermes who broke her maiden at start three in 1:55.8, Arties Dime who won first up for Kennedy in a heat of the Breeders Challenge and the hat-trick was sealed with smart two-year-old filly Shes A Caribbean.

Trotting through the Forrest

Keeping things in the south west, trainer Grant Forrest had six of the seven starters in the trot race at Young last Tuesday night and finished top four! Paul Sapio drove the winner Sally Em while Orlando Storm and Trevor White were second, Eratigena and Taylah Osmond were third and Forrest drove the fourth-placed Chateaubriant.

He did it again and there are no oops about it!

Switching over to the Sydney basin, driver Robbie Morris likes to finish first . . . particularly in the opening event at Menangle on a Tuesday!

Morris achieved the feat yet again at last Tuesday’s meeting with trotter Sheza Pleasure and has now won the first race at the provincial Menangle meetings five times in the last six weeks.

‘Kev’ cuts loose

Kevin Pizzuto was back in the drivers’ seat at Bankstown on Monday and broke a long winning drought when victorious with Je Taime.

The last winner Pizzuto drove was more than five years ago!

That was Lets Cut Loose on July 7, 2016.

Shades of Green

There were shades of Green at Penrith last Thursday when young driver Lleyton Green continued his good form landing not one but two winners.

Trainers Dean and Kerry McDowell provided the winners with Volando Denario and Black Onyx.

Emotions high at ‘Newy’

It was poetry in motion watching Peter Hedges drive Three In Heaven to an all-the-way victory in a heat of the Breeders Challenge at Newcastle last Friday.

The pacer was having his first start under the guidance of Adam Ruggari who took on the training of the gelding following the recent passing of his ‘Pop’ Barry Matterson who was the previous trainer.

Adding to the story was the fact Pops Boy (Michael Formosa) ran second!

Drive of the week – there’s plenty of Hart in this 

Is there a more in form driver in Australia at the moment other than Cameron Hart?

If Saturday night at Tabcorp Park Menangle was anything to go by you would nearly have to say NO.

Hart partnered three of the four winners in the two-year-old Breeders Challenge Semi-Finals for the boys and girls, but it was Cam’s effort with his fourth winner behind the Jason Grimson-trained Rocknlachlan that caught the eye of most.

Drawn low in gate three and with plenty of speed coming over from out wide, Hart was forced to make an early decision to head down for the marker line and take a trail.

Off the back of a quick first quarter and a mid-race saunter it become evident that the horses following the inside would be the ones to beat.

Nearing the 400m the race started to change complexion once again when the leader Kingmaker was sent for home, this enabled Rossini who sat leaders back to come to the outside of Kingmaker and from there Hart was left with two options, come to the outside and lose ground or stick to the inner and hope for the best and the rest is history.

Luckless runner of the week – Angelic Miss and Jack Painting 

There is no doubt after watching the first race at Young on Tuesday evening that Angelic Miss was close enough to a good thing beaten.

Driven cold from gate seven by Jack Painting, the Sam Hewitt-trained mare went to the line under double wraps in on a pace dominated affair, having to settle for third placing and when the mare eventually saw daylight, ended up well and truly past the first and second horses 20m after the line.

Take nothing away from the winner though Better Than Grange who was three wide for the first section of the race and worked up to face the chair, but if Angelic Miss got her crack any earlier we would have been looking at a different situation that is for sure.

‘MD’s Trial File’ – Forever Yin 

The Riverina Paceway Wagga is where we turn our attention this week for the Trial File with an up and coming star making his return after a short let up in Forever Yin.

Trained by Ellen Bartley, the son of boom sire Western Terror was put through his paces in a slick 1:56.8 mile rating.

With the HRNSW Carnival of Cups series set to kick off in the coming weeks, Forever Yin will definitely be a name to watch out for down south.

The big bets provided by TAB

BATHURST 13/10

BANG

$4,248 @ $1.25 on Winona Writer

$1,000 @ $2.30 on Bid For Stardom

OUCH

$3,000 @ $2.15 on Only One Don

$2,000 @ $2 on Best Beau

$1,469 @ $1.90 on Western Bill

$1,000 @ $1.95 on Western Bill

PENRITH 14/10

BANG

$2,500 @ $2.30 on My Buzz Lightning

$1,500 @ $1.75 on Sugar For My Honey

OUCH

$1,297 @ $2 on My Ultimate Cobber

$1,000 @ $6 on Ed Mendes

PARKES 15/10

BANG

$2,000 @ $1.80 on Ripponlea

OUCH

$1,900 @ $3.20 on Kingston Shannon

WAGGA 15/10

BANG

$3,000 @ $1.85 on Street Writer

$2,000 @ $2.40 on That’s Art

NEWCASTLE 15/10

BANG

$1,000 @ $1.40 on Surfers Delight

$1,000 @ $1.30 on Abdicate

OUCH

$2,000 @ $1.15 on Pops Boy

MENANGLE 16/10

BANG

$6,750 @ $1.04 on My Ultimate Byron

$3,385 @ $1.80 on B K Swy

$2,000 @ $1.40 on Expensive Ego

OUCH

$7,000 @ $2.25 on Kingmaker

$1,700 @ $1.60 on Smaltese

From Harness Racing New South Wales