Confessional repents with dominant G2 Sires Stakes success

Confessional (Father Patrick) won’t be off to church repenting any time soon after bouncing back from a fresh-up gallop with a G2 win at the home of North Island harness racing tonight (May 19) at Alexandra Park.

It was a phenomenal effort from the Paul Nairn trained and driven trotter to claim the $52,000 3YO Sires Stakes Trotters Championship in what was an evenly matched field of sophomore square gaiters. On paper, anyway!

Confessional was caught three wide early off the mobile and then forced to race parked for the majority of the 2200m journey with Tony Cameron, and She’s Gold intent on holding the lead.

Nairn was unperturbed aboard last season’s 2YO C&G Trotter of the Year.

The confident steer from the man they call the master saw him refusing to give up the chair to the country’s leading junior reinsman in Sarah O’Reilly, who just so happened to be driving a horse wearing Nairn’s colours!

After breaking the heart of the tiring leader, Nairn set about breaking the hearts of the rest of the field and stormed clear the final time down the back and put the peddle to the metal.

The Robert and Jenna Dunn trained Sunny’s Sister trotted up boldly on the home bend, and just when it looked like she was mounting a charge akin to her older brother, Nairn was off and gone, careering away to a bruising seven length victory.

CONFESSIONAL REPLAY

The Arna Donnelly trained filly, Virginia Clowers (Creatine) continued her impressive form since heading north in the Autumn and picked up yet another Group race second having managed to find the back of Confessional throughout much of the journey.

The Dylan Ferguson and Graeme Rogerson trained Lovemeto (What The Hill) was solid in third after being carted back on the turn behind a tiring Tectonic and was making up impressive ground in the run home.

It was back-to-back 3YO Sires Stakes Championships for Nairn and Birchbrook Breeding Limited who co-bred and race the gelding out of champion mare Habibti with Rob and Lynne Patterson.

The winning time for the 2200m mobile was 2:44.6 with a mile rate of 2:00.3 and closing sectionals of 60.6 and 29.8.

For complete Alexandra Park race fields, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink