Adelle hits a high note

The plan may have been briskly thrown out the window but that didn’t stop harness racing’s Kerryn Manning and Adelle (Orlando Vici) from storming home and scooping up the prized John Slack Memorial Trotters Cup on Saturday (Jul. 16).

It was the headliner as metro racing came to Ballarat and it didn’t disappoint with in-form Nephew Of Sonoko valiant in the breeze, giving them all something to chase, and Inter Dominion champ Maori Law overcoming a final straight mishap to almost claim the race.

However, they were undone by Manning and her promising mare Adelle, who produced a career best win in the $30,000 Cup and scored in a photo finish.

“I was quietly confident, but knowing it was such a hard field it was going to be a hard task,” Manning told TrotsVision.

That task was made all the harder when Adelle was slow away from the gates, which saw Manning caught outside the running line and needing to slide back to the tail of the field.

“She usually comes off the gate OK, but she kind of walked out and then Nathan (Jack on Sundons Courage) kicked through underneath me and I had to grab hold,” Manning said. “It was a very long way back and I thought ‘well, this wasn’t in the plan’.

“But certainly following some nice horses up helped. She wanted to get on with the job down the back and ran out before I was ready and got Maori Law going and got a good drag into it from there.”

Adelle was five-wide around the final turn but swept home in a race best 28.73-second last quarter and 56.72-second last half to pip Maori Law by a short half-head, with Nephew Of Sonoko 1.3 metres back after a valiant run in the breeze.

ADELLE REPLAY

“Her work’s been really good,” Manning said. “I’ve had no trouble with her for the last week and a half, for Adelle that’s really good news for me. And she proved tonight that she is on song.”

She said Adelle would likely next target the Lightfoot Laurels Group 3 standing start trot for mares at Melton on August 6.

For complete race results, click here.

by Michael Howard, for HRV