Taipo too good in lead up to Summer Cup

Arna Donnelly told Harnesslink followers yesterday that the 2200m journey in Thursday night’s (Sep. 15) assignment would be right up the alley of her stable runner Taipo (American Ideal) and so it proved in the featured harness racing pace on the Alexandra Park programme.

Todd Mitchell had the five-year-old quickly into stride from his 10m mark and with race favourite Hay Bartender and much of the front-line making mistakes, found himself in front with just over two laps to go.

Without any real challengers for the front, it was their Taipo remained, booting clear at the top of the straight to record his sixth victory in his 28^th career start.

The Cambridge pacer was perfectly rated by Mitchell to win easily in a time of 2:45.9, three-quarters of a length clear of Raven Banner in second and the same distance back to his stablemate Kango in third.

TAIPO REPLAY

“Last season we had a lot of trouble getting him away from a stand but tonight and last week he began really good. It was nice to step away and when I looked across there was a couple galloping on the inside of us. He put himself in the race and we were able to dictate a little bit over the 2200m.

“It could be onwards and upwards, he’s got the ability to go on with it, so hopefully we can have a bit of fun with him,” said Mitchell speaking to Jo Steven’s (Track Chat) post-race.

The back marker Kango was bold in taking ground off his stablemate up the straight in a fresh up state and will clearly be a much-improved horse for the run as he heads to next week’s Group Three Summer Cup.

Earlier in the night, two-year-old filly, Shez Bella (Pegasus Spur) took out the $20,000 North Island Juvenile Trotting Championship for the two-year-old squaregaiters in the hands of her co-trainer, Dylan Ferguson.

As she has done in her two previous race day starts, the filly was able to lead off the arm and showed a sharp turn of foot sprinting home in 27.6 to hold out the challenge of race favourite, Southern Diamond.

SHEZ BELLA REPLAY

“I think she is certainly a progressive type, and it hasn’t been all plain sailing with her so far and I think she will get better as the season goes on,” said Ferguson.

“I’ve said for quite a while she is probably the nicest young trotter I’ve ever handled. Her half-brother was a New Zealand record holder at two and I think she would chew him up and spit him out at the same stage so hopefully, that holds her in good stead for the future,” he said.

The Mark Purdon & Hayden Cullen-trained Millwood Nike (Captaintreacherous) kept her unbeaten record intact in the Essano Visible Repair 2YO Fillies Mobile Pace.

She was awesome in coming off the back of her highly fancied stablemate, Luvstruck, to reel in the Steve and Amanda trained front runner, Sweet Diamond.

The race was run in a lightning-fast 1:55.3-mile rate for the 1700m journey with Millwood Nike likely breaking 27 seconds for her last 400m.

MILLWOOD NIKE REPLAY

Zachary Butcher recorded four driving successes on the night and continued his hot run of form since donning the Blue September pants in support of prostate cancer.

He reigned home the Ray Green-trained Lincoln River in race two, his stable runner Call Me Trouble in race six, and kept the promising two-year-old Merlin’s unbeaten streak intact at six in the ninth on the card.

Butcher capped off a great night by reigning home the John Dickie trained That’s What We Do in the last on the card, with the three-year-old son of Love You winning easily by three lengths in the finish.

For complete race results, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink