Ameretto bowls over ‘big boys’
Outstanding Great Westerntrained mare Ameretto took on the big boys on Saturday night at Melton and bowled them all over in the $20,000 Golden Reign Free-for-all.
The race played out perfectly for driver-trainer Kerryn Manning and her six-year-old bay, with Lennytheshark and Im The Boss burning out of the gate in a fierce 600-metre battle for the leading spot.
When the dust had settled, Ameretto was in the sweet seat, one-out-oneback at the bell with plenty in reserve, while the front-runners were looking to save something for the finish.
Manning waited until the 400-metre mark before asking Ameretto for an effort and turning for home had the race in her keeping.
Coming on the back of her group one victory a week earlier in the Benstud Queen Of The Pacific, Ameretto’s performance served notice that come the summer, she could be a major player in the 2018 Inter Dominion Series.
Maori Time
The racing game can also be oh, so cruel and for those connected with Aussie trotting mare Maori Time, her first appearance on European soil at the weekend was a huge disappointment.
The start of her elimination heat for the prestigious Elitlopp at Solvalla, Sweden, was delayed and further delayed when the raging hot favourite, French stallion Bold Eagle put on a ‘rodeo act’ during the pre-race warmup.
Eventually the driver and handler coaxed the entire to score up and the eight trotters were off, with Maori Time and driver Todd Mccarthy slotting into an ideal spot on the pegs, before the siren sounded for a false start and another delay.
To that stage Maori Time had been the ultimate professional in the pressure cooker atmosphere of the Solvalla amphitheatre, but then it all just got to her a little bit, according to Mccarthy.
“She was a lot keener the third time and she touched the wheel right before the start point. That was enough to send her into a gallop,” he said.
Mccarthy allowed the Brent Lilley-trained Maori Time to ‘bowl around at the back of the field’ after she galloped with ‘bad-boy’ Bold Ea- gle failing to complete the race. Greg Hayes from Sky Racing reported that Maori Time had been invited to Finland in July to compete in an 80,000 Euro race, and had also been invited to race in Norway in a fortnight.
Stig Johansson will oversee Maori Time’s training for her European campaign and the mare will remain overseas for the immediate future. It’s Hot To Trot: At Charlton on Monday; Terang, Wednesday, June 6; Hamilton, Monday, June 11; Swan Hill, Wednesday, June 13; and Horsham, Sunday, June 17.