Deltasun in winning form
Ararat trotter Deltasun took out the prestigious $25,000 Central Victorian Trotting Championship at Maryborough last week for trainer Terry Young and his ownerbreeder Alison Young.
Deltasun, with regular driver Gavin Lang in the sulky, stepped away safely from the front line and tailed the freewheeling leader Aldebaran Kiri, Anthony O’connor, for the majority of the 2690-metre journey.
When O’connor pulled the deafeners on Aldebaran Kiwi and tried to kick clear at the 300-metre mark, Lang looked confident and sat quietly on Deltasun until turning for home.
The four-year-old gelding moved up to challenge the gallant frontrunner halfway up the straight and went on to score by 6.2 metres in a rate of 2:04.3 with the final mile run in a frantic 1:58.2.
Deltasun’s record now stands at nine wins, nine minor placings and $131,885 in stakes from just 20 lifetime starts, and barring bad luck or injury looks set for another fruitful campaign.
Consolation
St Arnaud-logan district trainer Jason Mcnaulty also enjoyed success at the Maryborough fixture when the former New Zealand trotter Fratellino overcame a 20-metre handicap to capture the $10,000 Central Victorian Trotting Championship Consolation.
The lightly raced six-year-old gelding is raced by Jason’s brother Shaun and was driven by talented young Burrumbeet reinsman James Herbertson.
Fratellino trotted away solidly at the start and steadily made ground during the first lap of the staying contest to be three back in the running line.
Herbertson decided to make his move at the 1400-metre mark and worked his charge forward to the spot outside the leader at the bell.
In the run to the post, Fratellino proved much too strong for the opposition and scored untouched by 5.3 metres in a rate of 2:04.9. It was the trotter’s second win from three starts for the Mcnaulty boys and it would be no surprise to soon see Fratellino line up in a country trotters cup.
Ballarat win
A dashing drive from Grant Campbell paved the way for smart three-yearold filly Onthecrestofawave’s victory at Ballarat on Friday night in a $7000 pace.
Campbell had none of the early speed battle at the start but made a lightning move after just 600 metres of the 2200-metre trip to claim the lead from the front runner Thats Perfect, $1.10 favourite driven by Chris Alford.
One in front, Campbell dictated the tempo with moderate middle sections in 31.5 and 30.4 then left them standing in the final stage with a slick final quarter home in 27.8 seconds.
Kerryn Manning trains Onthecrestofawave at Great Western for a large band of owners, headed by Stawell’s Ken Salmon.
From just seven starts, the daughter of Modern Art USA and former top race mare Our Surfergirl is already a fourtime winner and hopefully has plenty more in store.
Official visit
Victoria’s Racing Integrity Commissioner Sal Perna will visit Horsham on Tuesday as part of his regional question and answer roadshow.
These informal sessions at race meetings provide attendees with an opportunity to raise questions and hear first-hand about the commissioner’s perspective on integrity in the racing industry.
All interested members of the public and participants involved in the three codes of racing are welcome to attend.
The session will be from 5pm in the main dining area at Horsham Greyhound Racing Club.
People interested in submitting questions in advance of the session are asked to send their questions to the Office of the Racing Integrity Commissioner by email to rsvp@racingintegrity.vic.gov.au.