Vicbred Super Series Grand Final Night

Lochinvar Art was scintillating, Tough Tilly inspiring and so many others career-definining on a magical Vicbred Super Series grand final night at Tabcorp Park Melton, where a glorious 12 harness racing $100,000 Group 1s were run and won.

Relive every high with thetrots.com.au’s live blog, as we enjoyed each great stride to the winning post.

For full results and video replays click on this link.

Keayang Livana found the front from gate three and was never underpressure, finding separation in a 28.6-second third quarter and only clearing out further in a 29.1-second final quarter to record her 10th career win and first Group 1 triumph.

“Obviously Marg and all the uncles and all the team at home have done a lot of effort to get this mare here and just glad that I could do the right job and get her home,” Lee said.

“Celebrating there at the end and enjoying that one, I haven’t had a Saturday night off since we lifted restrictions and it is hard. We obviously love what we do but you do miss out on a lot of things, but you’ve just got to enjoy these good nights and when you do have good wins.”

R11: Skyvalley 2YO Trotting Fillies

The early moments were all important in the two-year-old trotting fillies Group 1 final and when Banglez put her best foot forward her reinsman was confident the path to victory would present.

Greg Sugars produced a second Vicbred Super Series win for the night and trainer Emma Stewart a third as Banglez led all the way for a big group of rapt owners.

“She has her fair share of ability this filly, we just had to get her manners right and she seems to have done that now,” Sugars told Trots Vision.

“She put the writing on the wall last week with a really good win in a heat of this, came up with a great draw and once we (found the front) I was pretty confident she was going to be hard to run down.”

Sugars said the lightly-raced filly, whose Vicbred Super Series heat win broke her maiden status, is still honing her ring craft, and he gave a terrific insight into his careful handling of the Majestic Son two-year-old tonight.

“She’s a little bit highly strung, so she’s a bit of a revvy filly,” he said. “She was up on the bit in the warm up and I just had to let her stride out on a couple of occasions and just got her used to short acceleration, which is what you obviously need out of the gate.

“I just tried to time my run so I wasn’t too hard up on the gate, probably a metre off when they said go, but so she had an uninterrupted run and was happy to chase the gate.

“Just had to keep the bit in her mouth and keep her balanced.”

He ticked all those boxes and Banglez found and held the front, aided when Queen Invasion galloped on her outside at the start. Favourite Aldebaran Ursula then advanced to the breeze and, while she pulled hard, Sugars was able to maintain an even tempo.

His filly had enough left for a 59-second last half, holding at bay Evas Image and lightning fast finisher Senitas Strength to claim the Group 1 win.

R10: Art Major 4YO Pacing Mares

With a favourable draw and the best horse in the race, Chris Alford was in complete control of the four-year-old mares final with Our Princess Tiffany.

Dean Braun’s four-year-old Art Major mare crept within ear shot of the magical million-dollar mark with a 17-metre win in tonight’s Vicbred Super Series Group 1, when Alford steered her to the front from gate two and never looked threatened.

Lead rival Miss McGonagall gave her best shot, advancing early to the breeze to keep pressure on the leader, but Our Princess Tiffany had all the answers, skipping ahead with a 28.2-second third quarter and then clearing out with a 29.1-second last 400.

“Tonight showed that she’s right back at the top of her game,” Alford told Trots Vision, with the mare having now won four of her seven starts since returning to Australia from New Zealand.

“(Dean Braun) only works a small team now and doesn’t leave any stone unturned. She had a few little issues after she got here, after her first win, and probably raced below her best, but he had her back right for the heat and semi.

“She had the class, she may not be as good as she was when she was a two and three-year-old, but she’s still pretty damn good.”

Alford said he expected she would continue to race in Australia, with the $100,000 Alabar Bloodstock Ladyship Cup on February 6 on the horizon. The mares classic shares the card with the Del-Re National A. G. Hunter Cup and Alford said it was probably less likely she’d take on the big boys.

“When you look at Lochinvar Art you think, maybe not, but she would be good enough to run a place with a soft run and a good draw. She’s still got it.”

R9: Ultimate Machete 4YO Pacing Entires & Gelding

Lochinvar Art wowed the crowd and reinforced he was the horse to beat in the forthcoming Del-Re National A. G. Hunter Cup with a stunning Vicbred Super Series victory.

David Moran’s brilliant four-year-old Modern Art entire is well accustomed to outstanding performances at Tabcorp Park, where he holds track records over the short and middle distances.

He set down another exhilarating time tonight, holding out Hurricane Harley’s stern challenge early in a 43.3-second lead time and then pouring home in a 54-second last half to win by a stunning 30 metres.

“It’s amazing really, scary to think some of the races that he’s been in and he’s won over the past six months,” Moran told Trots Vision post-race. “Tonight he probably felt the best of all of them.

“He worked really good during the week. I thought he would be three or four lengths better this week, but he was 10 lengths better.”

With a 26.9-second third quarter Moran left all chasers well and truly in his wake and that meant he could take the rare chance to enjoy the ride.

“It’s an unreal feeling really,” he said. “There’s not many Group 1 races where you are out in front by 20 or 30 metres and you know you are home at top of the straight and you’ve got the whole straight to think about what salute you are going to do.

“That one was for (owner) Kevin (Gordon), he’s in the crowd tonight. It’s just been an amazing ride and just hopefully we can keep him sound and let it continue.”

R8: A Rocknroll Dance 2YO Pacing Fillies

Tough Tilly secured the win she richly deserved and with it rewarding the outstanding foundation she represents, as reinswoman Kate Gath steered the butterfly silks to victory for the EB Research Partnership Australia.

From her 10 starts leading into tonight, the Emma Stewart-trained two-year-old had won three times and finished second on six occasions, most often to previously unbeaten stablemate Ladies In Red.

But tonight Gath and Tough Tilly were able to turn the tables on their nemesis, using their favourable draw to easily claim the lead and then dictate terms to the line.

“Everything finally came about tonight, so we could make a real race of it and once we got that cheap lead I was just happy to have a crack and see if she could beat us, and Tilly proved tonight that she is tough just like her name says and she was just too good for her,” Gath said.

“No race I have more wanted to win for EB Research, Tilly Wilkes, everyone suffering with EB – it’s just a great story and I’m so lucky to be a part of it.

“It brought a tear to my eye. It’s just so important, we can’t find a cure for any of these diseases unless we raise awareness and just keep at it and at it and at it and raise much-needed funds to help find a cure.

“For Emma (Stewart), Tough Tilly’s always been a bit of a favourite of hers, we were both over the moon to get a win tonight.”

Stewart trained the first five fillies home in an extraordinary result for the stable, while Gath produced her second Group 1 drive for the night after pouring the pressure on with a 54.7-second last half to make it all but impossible for Ladies In Red to make ground.

“(It was) unlike the Breeders Crown, where the lead time was 44 or a little bit quicker (and) I thought I needed to get a second quarter breather. (That meant) Ladies In Red could dictate to me,” Gath told Trots Vision.

“Tonight, the lead time was slow and so we could throw caution to the wind and say catch us if you can.”

R7: Skyvalley 2YO Trotting Colts & Geldings 

An outstanding season for trainer Kate Hargreaves and reinsman Alex Ashwood was capped in fittingly winning style as their trotter Dont Care boxed on bravely to score in his Vicbred Super Series final.

The pair won their first training and driving Group 1s respectively when Dont Care gained separation at the turn, held off all challengers late and then won a protest post-race to claim the $100,000 crown.

“It’s been a terrific last 12 months and to get a horse like this really pays dividends,” Ashwood told Trots Vision post-race.

The pair stepped up their training this season, with Hargreaves’ advancing from 129 starters in 2018-19 to, with Dont Care’s win, 128 winners in 2019-20.

“We backed our judgement,” Ashwood said. “I worked with Kate (Gath) and Andy (Gath) for five or six years, that was a great learning curve, learning about the trotters, working with some great trotters like Tornado Valley, Glenferrie Typhoon. I learned a lot about how to get them right on the big nights, big thanks to them.”

There was a bit of zip early and Ashwood was in the centre of it, making a play for the front before having to ease off when leader Bullion Harry kicked up.

Despite the early effort, Dont Care had plenty left in the finish, running past leaders Keayang Ninja and Utopia and then holding out fast finishing Bromwich (second) and Aldebaran Zeus (third) to win.

The victory was also reward for Ashwood’s keen eye, having picked out the Used To Me gelding in unusual fashion at the Australian Premier Trotting Sale.

“I was flying out to Tassie, the plane got delayed a couple of hours, I got a bit bored so got on the live stream and saw him walking through the ring and made about three or four phone calls,” Ashwood said.

“I got hold of Kevin Weidenbach and he ended up purchasing her for $11,000. Didn’t see the horse, didn’t look at him, just bought him on spec, I liked him when he walked through the ring, he had a bit of presence about him.”

R6: The Storm Inside Pacing 2YO Colts & Geldings

As the 7mate coverage kicked in to gear the free-to-air viewers were treated to an extraordinary upset as $99 pop Kimble mowed down front running stablemates Idyllic and Major Moth to win the two-year-old boys Group 1 title for trainer-driver Matt Craven.

It was the race billed as the battle between two brilliant Clayton Tonkin colts and all appeared true to script as Idyllic worked to the front and Breeders Crown champ Major Moth soon lobbed on his outside.

But the front wasn’t gifted to them, with Kimble initially shooting to the lead from gate four before gaining cover from Soho Bollinger, who in turn handed up to Idyllic.

After a 45.5-second lead time and 30.3-second first quarter things got willing, as Chris Alford (Idyllic) and Damian Wilson (Major Moth) put the acid test on up front, blazing with a 27.1-second third quarter.

But the pace took a toll and Kimble was on hand to take advantage, advancing from three back the pegs by sweeping around the leaders to score by six metres.

“So proud of this little fella, he hasn’t been any star, but he’s just continued to improve and improve all the way along,” Craven told Trots Vision.

“The more work we’ve done with him the better he’s got, even through his semi-final race we backed him up in between to get a run into him at Horsham and also get our Vicbred bonus.

“I thought we just needed to harden him up a little bit more for something like tonight when they run along and you have to be super hard fit.”

And so he proved, sustaining the pressure set by the leaders while others wilted before crashing the line to win.

“He’s always followed speed fantastically and credit to him tonight – he just chased and chased and when he went to them at the top of the lane I didn’t expect him to run past them but full credit to him,” he said. “He just pinned the ears back and had a full crack, that’s what we love about him.”

R5: Rock N Roll Heaven 3YO Pacing Fillies

Maajida thrilled the well-travelled, loyal Johnson family with another stunning victory, sitting tough outside stablemate Amelia Rose to score for reinsman Greg Sugars and trainer Emma Stewart in tonight’s fifth Group 1.

The brilliant Somebeachsomewhere three-year-old improved her record to 17 wins from 23 starts with a stoic performance to add the three-year-old title to her win last year in the two-year-old Vicbred Super Series final.

“Her record on paper is outstanding, she probably doesn’t quite get the recognition she probably deserves because she goes about it like a tradesman,” Sugars told Trots Vision.

“She just keeps winning, that’s all you can ask for, and as a driver you know she has a never-say-die attitude. Even tonight, when Kate (Gath on Amelia Rose) had me off the bit and chasing at the turn, I still knew she would rally to win and give it one hell of a crack, which was exactly the way it turned out.”

Amelia Rose and Gath controlled the race after ripping to the lead from the widest front row draw.

Maajida slid to her outside at the bell, advancing in a 28.7-second first quarter, before the Stewart-trained pair applied the brakes in a 31s second quarter.

From there it was a survival of the fittest and fastest and Maajida again proved herself elite, working to the front amid the 56.4-second last half to win by a neck from Its Beaujolais, with Rockingwithsierra and Amelia Rose third and fourth respectively.

“She just keeps getting the job done, she’s got a fantastic record and just has a real will to win and it’s just a pleasure to be associated with her,” Sugars said of the winner.

“When we drew where we did that was a bit of a spanner in the works, but I had full faith in her that she could overcome some obstacles tonight and that was exactly the way it turned out.

“She’s raced tough basically her whole career. She just keeps backing up and steps up to the challenge.”

R4: Vincent 3YO Pacing Colts & Geldings

Pacifico Dream conclusively proved himself the best horse in his class with a commanding victory in the three-year-old colts and geldings final, despite having to do plenty of work in the run.

Trainer Andy Gath and reinswoman Kate Gath’s Mach Three scooped up the Alabar Farms Vicbred Super Series title in convincing fashion for owners Mervat Caruana and Marlene Johnson.

“I thought Pacifico Dream was my best on paper and runs, I just thought he was better than them, but it doesn’t always mean you win,” Kate Gath told Trots Vision.

“They have to be at their best, he was tonight. Really rapt for the owners, for Andy and all of us at home who have put a lot of work into him. He’s just been a lovely horse and done a great job.”

After a false start there were plenty of eager horses early, with Kowalski Analysis leading until Sanday ripped to the front in a 42.9-second lead time.

Pacifico Dream then soon loomed in the breeze, but the pace remained honest through the first half before the winner separated himself from the chasing pack and his stablemate with a 55.6-second last half.

“The false start kind of fired him up a little bit but it kind of works in his favour – he can be a little laid back at times, which he was last week and he probably didn’t look all that impressive,” Gath said.

“The harder they go the more he loves it, so really you don’t want to be over the top, but any time he’s been in these races where the mile rates been really fast, he just absorbs it and he just beats them by further.”

R3: Aldebaran Eagle 3YO Trotting Colts & Geldings

Amid plenty of drama it was a magical moment for trainer Mick Hughes, reinsman Rodney Petroff and connections of Is That A Bid after their consistent trotter battled manfully to the line to win his Vicbred Super Series final.

An emotional Petroff savored his first Group 1 triumph with the Andover Hall three-year-old, who led from gate six and held on by two metres from Cracker Jet and No Biggie.

The race had turned on its head before it even started, with unbeaten favourite Cover Of Darkness throwing a shoe in the lead-up and then, after a lengthy delay, making a mistake at the start that put paid to his chances.

Petroff smelled an opportunity and launched forward early from gate six, finding the front and setting up his eventual win.

“Once I saw Cover Of Darkness misbehave (and) Powderkeg have to do a bit of work to get outside me, once that happened we bowled along, made it a bit of a staying test and to Mick’s credit he got him right on the right night,” Petroff said.

Bred by David Scott and owned by the Wells Family Group and Stuart Hurles, Is That A Bid ran on stoically in the final straight and, while he failed to find separation from the chasing pack, he was able to hold all at bay in the 30.2-second final quarter.

“He’s that type of horse, he looks like he’s all out but he just keeps going,” Petroff said. “It’s my first Group 1 winner, so it’s a really good thrill.”

R2: Aldebaran Eagle 3YO Trotting Fillies

A thrilling moment for trainer Fred Spiteri as his consistent three-year-old trotter, Majestical Belle, put her best foot forward to capture the Vicbred Super Series crown.

The race looked in Illawong Stardust’s keeping after her trainer-driver Jodi Quinlan dashed the favourite to the front and broke open the field with a 29.5-second third quarter, but she broke gait at the top of the straight.

Majestical Belle and reinsman Chris Alford were on hand to capitalise, running away to score by 11.4 metres from Ofortuna and Imamaorijet, with Junaita Breen’s Golden Sunset another hard luck story after suffering a flat tyre when she looked poised to pounce.

But all plaudits go to the winner, with Alford lauding Spiteri’s training efforts.

“Freddy’s battled around with, as you would say, ordinary horses for a lot of years and done a really good job with them picking up country wins,” Alford said.

“He’s got well bred stock now, got a lot of them off Yabby Dam, he’s doing a great job – just to qualify four for that final was a terrific effort.”

Alford said Majestical Belle, a Majestic Son filly who was bred by Leo Newbound and is owned by Spiteri, raced well to take advantage when the favourite miss-stepped.

“About the 500 Jodi let hers slide up a bit and couldn’t get away from (Majestical Belle),” Alford told Trots Vision. “I knew that little filly would keep knuckling down.

“Jodi’s horse put in a bit of a rough one about two-thirds of the way around the turn. I just kept chasing and thought there’s a chance she might break here, a little bit further on it did, unfortunately for Jodi but thrilled for Freddy.”

R1: Yield Boko 4YO Trotting Entires & Geldings

Always Ready reaffirmed his elite talent to kick off the night’s first Group 1 with a narrow win, succeeding in a sprint to the line to reward Pat Driscoll’s Yabby Dam Farms with an early success.

Trained by Anton Golino and Jack McKinnon and driven by Jason Lee, Always Ready was a $1.70 favourite and the Ready Cash four-year-old had to prove himself the best horse in the race to claim the $100,000 title.

When Lee advanced Always Ready to the front of the field with a lap and a half to go lead rival Sammy Showdown and reinswoman Kylie Sugars pushed forward to the lead, parking Always Ready for the run home.

“Once we were rolling forward the speed wasn’t overly quick and I probably thought for a couple of seconds maybe we will cut loose and try and catch them napping, but Kylie saw us and that opportunity had gone,” Lee told Trots Vision.

“So we were probably best to turn it into a dash home and our fella’s real quick, so that was the next aim.”

A 32.7-second first quarter gave the lead pair a breather and it wasn’t until the final quarter that the pace spiked, with Just Believe (leader’s back) and Brandlo Prince (one-one) looming ominously.

“I was doing a fair bit of thinking throughout the race,” Lee said. “I had Chris (Svanosio driving Brandlo Prince) on my back and Rodney (Petroff driving Just Believe) leader’s back, Kylie (driving Sammy Showdown) in front. That was where I weighed up my main dangers, probably a long way out.

“Chris was battling a little bit on the turn, but I knew his fella would keep coming. So I just thought we had to try and win the race with speed. In the end the line came up soon enough, the first handful of horses home ran great races.”

Always Ready held on by a half-head in front of a fast-finishing Brandlo Prince, with Sammy Showdown (third) and Just Believe (fourth) crashing the line within four metres of the winner.

“Winning any race is special, but when they’ve got a Group 1 next to them it’s pretty cool,” Lee said.

“Anton, Jack, Pat the whole team, they want them right on the big stages, and they keep doing it, so hats off to them – I have the easy job.”

For full results and video replays click on this link.

HRV – Michael Howard