Golden Gait night delivers

From the series for every horse to the rarified air of Group 1s.

That is the unusual pathway for two of the harness racing stars of Golden Gait night at Alexandra Park on Friday, a race meeting with something for every one.

There were pacing wins for small stables in Words for jubilant and thankful trainer Greg Shirley, to trotting wins for huge stables as Ya Rite Darl added her $50,000 three-year-old final to last week’s Queen Of Diamonds.

There was a stable quinella for Ray Green and Nathan Delany as Tyson grabbed Debbie Lincoln in the three-year-old pace, with Green summing it up “we didn’t care which one won.”

There was a galloping favourite in the two-year-old trot, Save A Prayer, who helped a galloping legend in Graeme Rogerson train the winner, albeit most of the credit for The Four Aces win has to go to James Stormont, who also drives the horse.

Later in the night Gotta Go Miki picked the right night to get things right for trainers Logan Hollis and Shane Robertson while Castana made co-trainer Dave McGowan look like a genius.

He told young driver Taitlyn Hanara not to worry about the second line draw, get a cart into the race and let him show them what he has got.

Hanara did her job then Castana did his to register the biggest win in both their careers and another special moment on a true harness racing night.

CASTANA GOLDEN GAIT WIN REPLAY

Then their was cricket legend Kyle Mills, who has loved harness racing for 25 years, owning two-year-old pacing winner Cyclone Rebel, who he bred and races with his brother Heath with their merry mates.

When they started racing horses together they were drinking buddies, on Friday night the enormously popular Mills had his teenage children with him.

Times change but the thrill of owning a winner clearly doesn’t.

Cyclone Rebel may end up being one of the better winners from Friday night and to add to the moment Frank Cooney, whose wife Ann shares in the ownership, was on track and celebrating his birthday alongside trainer Tate Hopkins, who worked for Cooney for so long.

Mills wasn’t the only cricketer in the winner’s circle as the last trot went to Patrick Mahomes, trained by Peter and Vaughan Blanchard, the latter having played a good standard of cricket in England before returning home to join the family business.

Patrick Mahomes was driven by Monika Ranger, capping a wonderful year for her in what was her only drive of the night.

So yes, there were some of the wonderful stories on Golden Gait night but the two big guns were Sooner The Bettor and Hillbilly Blues, who worked hard on their way to winning the major pace and trot.

Sooner The Bettor took the unusual Golden Gait path of having come straight out of the New Zealand Cup and co-trainer Scott Phelan confirms he will go straight back in to the Auckland Cup.

“I thought Harry (Orange) drove him very well tonight and while he is a good horse over any distance he is a very potent sprinter,” says Phelan, who trains Sooner The Bettor with Barry Purdon.

Sooner The Bettor will be joined in the  Auckland Cup on New Years Eve by stablemates Merlin and Better Knuckle Up, both of who will trial at Pukekohe this Tuesday.

Also heading down the Group 1 path will be all three of the trifectamates for Michelle Wallis and Bernie Hackett in the main trot.

Hillbilly Blues confirmed he is heading to open class by outmuscling a very brave Belle Neige with Courmayeur third, Wallis confirming all going well they will also start in the National Trot on December 31.

“Why not, there won’t be anything else for them that night and they are good enough,” says Wallis.

“He (Hillbilly Blues) is a very good trotter and still only four so he will end up a good open class trotter and deserves his shot at them next week.”

All in all, a golden night.

For complete race results, click here

by Michael Guerin, for Harness Racing New Zealand