Mataderos repeats the dose in D G Jones

Grass track harness racing returned to the Banks Peninsula Trotting Club this afternoon (Sep 25.) with the Moutukarara track awakening from a six-month hiatus.

While the weather was cold, the racing promised to be anything but with the feature of the day being the 58^th running of the time-honoured D G Jones Banks Peninsula Trotting Cup for the Open Class trotters.

The $30,000 Group Three attracted a strong field of 11 runners looking to add their names alongside some of the great square gaiters to have won the feature including the likes of Stylish Major, Nigel Craig, Sundon, Lyell Creek & I Can Doosit.

Among the contenders was last year’s winner, Mataderos (Dream Vacation), who having annihilated a similar field 12 months ago and boasting a strong form line this time in started a warm odds-on favourite to repeat the dose.

The Robert & Jenna Dunn-trained trotter has a special affinity for grass having won six from eight on the surface and was unbeaten in his two prior runs at Motukarara also.

Starting from a mark of 20m and with only Oscar Bonavena (Majestic Son) behind him, the son of Dream Vacation could see it all before him.  After missing away briefly, Mataderos and John Dunn were soon on the journey and found themselves in a gorgeous spot as the field entered the straight for the first time.

Second favourite Matua Tana (Love You) and Gerard O’Reilly looked likely to go on a search for the lead past the winning post but when Chief Of Staff (The Pres) and Zachary Butcher elected to leave a trailing position in pursuit of the front, it left Matua Tana posted and Mataderos in the one-one on his back.

With the favourite enjoying such a cushy run-in transit, it looked like the only danger to his second successive D G Jones was on his back with last year’s NZ Trotting FFA winner, Oscar Bonavena, traveling sweetly in behind for Robbie Close.

The pair peeled out the running line entering the straight for the final time and with 400m to go it quickly became a two-horse race.

200m later it was all over, as Mataderos dashed clear and put the feature beyond doubt with a comprehensive three and a quarter length victory from a gritty Oscar Bonavena.

Aardiebythehill (Muscle Hill) was a game run in third with his first start on the surface and a facing a steep rise in grade with the bonnie mare Resolve (Andover Hall) storming from the tail of the field to snatch fourth from her stablemate, Matua Tana.

MATADEROS REPLAY

The back-to-back victories put Mataderos in some esteemed company as only the sixth trotter in 58 years to win the Group Three feature twice. He joins About Now, Call You Later, Game Command, Lyell Creek and Springbank Richard, and his connections will be no doubt already plotting a plan to complete a hat trick in 12 months’ time.

Before any talk of a three-peat, the attention for Mataderos will now turn to the Dominion in an effort to go one better and improve on his second placing in Australasia’s greatest trotting race.

Craig Edmonds and the team down at Woodend Beach have clearly ironed out any wrinkles that were hampering him earlier in his campaign and the blue blood has trotted much kinder for John Dunn in his last two efforts on race day.

He will have to be on his game with some of the big guns nearing a resumption to racing and Muscle Moutain, Midnight Dash, and Enghien making bold statements in the last month.

Last year’s winner of the Dominion, Sundees Son, impressed at the trials earlier in the week off a big mark, and Rowe Cup winner, Bolt For Brilliance, scorched home behind Hot and Treacherous at Pukekohe yesterday (24 Sep.) in a 55-closing half suggesting we are in for some cracking contests in the near future.

For complete race results, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink