Jack makes a power push for Cup

Former Kiwi horseman Jack MacKinnon believes with an ounce of luck, he just may be able to pinch a win in the $30,000 Aldebaran Park Trotters Cup—the feature event of tonight’s Bendigo harness racing meeting.

Quietly spoken MacKinnon is uncharacteristically upbeat on the chances of his mare Silver Power in the Group Two race.

But he certainly has every reason as the five-year-old caught the eye when making its Australian debut recently at Melton.

“I was really happy with her first-up effort because she wasn’t 100 percent fit and needed the run,” MacKinnon, 26, said.

“She’s a great stayer. Her work this week has been much sharper and the harder they go, she’ll keep on truckin,” he said.

Silver Power (Monkey Bones-Calamity Gal (S J’s Photo) finished third, beaten five metres, behind two of our best trotters in Im Ready Jet and Aldebaran Crescent in the Group One $50,000 TAB Sumthingaboutmaori Trotters Free-For-All last Saturday week.

After settling five back on the pegs as the field raced in single file, MacKinnon bided his time and worked home strongly via the sprint lane over the final stages. The time of 1.59-1 by Im Ready Jet was only .04 of a second off the track record set four years ago by Sparkling Success.

“The owners back in New Zealand, Ted Edwards and his son Brett were both very happy. I think they may have been a bit pleasantly surprised, which was nice,” MacKinnon said.

“She won three races and then took out the G 1 Waikato Breeders at Cambridge as a young horse. With the ratings system in New Zealand, she then found herself in the open class and was up against horses like Temporale.

“Most of her racing has been over the longer distances and in standing starts. I think she’s only ever been behind the mobile barrier twice.”

MacKinnon moved to Australia four years ago when he was offered a job at the state-of-the-art Yabby Dam Farms property at Ballarat, by principal Pat Driscoll and trainer Anton Golino.

He is now based at Shelbourne, near Bendigo, preparing a team of 24 horses with Kate Hargreaves.

“I’ve only got a few in my name. Apart from Silver Power, there’s another former Kiwi trotter in Maudarchy. She’s lowly rated and was a cheapie. I’m in her with two mates and she’s been placed at Shepparton,” he said.

MacKinnon said the Bendigo Cup had attracted a strong field, including The Penny Drops, Always Ready, Illawong Stardust and Nephew Of Sonoko.

“I’ve drawn three off the front. If she steps away and I find the top, we won’t be waiting for them!” he said.

Hoofnote: Temporale is also now racing in Victoria, coming across the Tasman in January. A winner of 26 races, he’s with the Brent Lilley stable.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink