A winning reunion

An old firm — trainer Wayne Potter and reinsman Nathan Jack — reunited for a win at Shepparton last week.

Returning from his now Menangle base for the Breeders Crown series, Jack was successful in a three-year-old race on the Pottertrained and Jack Knight-owned Concorde Dawn.

Concorde Dawn was having only her second start for Potter after having crossed the Tasman where she had a win and four placings from 13 outings in New Zealand.

Concorde Dawn was the second of a driving double at the meeting for Jack, also winning on the Belinda McCarthy-trained Admiral Bronksi who made it win number 13 from 54 starts.

The Potter-Jack team struck again at Shepparton on Wednesday night, scoring with the former Riverinatrained Sunshine Hannigan who has now won three of her four starts for Potter. Mister Big ran to a plan, work to an early lead and then hopefully hold off all rivals in the run to the judge in the C1 Only four-year-old and older event.

A $2.40 favourite Mister Zhivago achieved this aim without too much sweat lost.

The second elect, the Russell Jack-trained and Nathan Jackdriven Colleens Medley, finished the race off well to finish second when getting into clear running without ever looking like running the favourite down.

Mister Zhivago doesn’t win out of turn with this win only the third in his 35 starts, but two second placings and a fourth at his previous three starts suggested his turn had come around again. career success when he saluted at Menangle on Monday.

Hassan Bolt has a strong local link being the last horse bred by the late David Daldy of Shepparton and driven by his son Glenn early in his career.

But as well as showing he had his share of ability he also was a noted breaker who proved extremely frustrating for the trainers who took him on.

Jeff Gledhill had three stints training the trotter who also had a winless period racing in South Australia.

There were some eyebrows raised when he returned to Victoria to race in March 2012 after going winless on the much weaker South Australian circuit.

But after he had frustrated another district trainer Linton Power he was back in the Gledhill stable and it was then he finally broke his duck at a Shepparton meeting in July 2013.

After that he went to the Walters stable at Kilmore when he bobbed up for his second win, also at Shepparton in September 2015.

He then returned to the Gledhill stable on an ultimatum from the trainer if he didn’t win in a handful of starts he would be moved on yet again.

This happened with NSW trainer Brian Portelli buying the horse.

And as Gledhill announced this week, good luck to him.

Given his surname he would have to be the choice of omen punters looking for a win at Menangle on Monday.

Those who dared were rewarded with odds of more than 10/1 — and the trainer a heap of praise from all those fellow trainers who he had frustrated so much over the years.