Upsets, celebrations at St Arnaud
The Charlton crew of trainer Joe Thompson and driver Ryan Sanderson combined to capture the opening event on St Arnaud Cup day, the $7000 Fabian Bigmore three-year-old Tribute with lightly raced filly Fair Chance.
The well-bred daughter of Always B Miki USA backed up just five days after a promising first-up effort at Bendigo and proved much too good for the opposition.
Sanderson slotted into the prime oneone posse from the start of the 2150m trip and waited until the 300m mark before giving Fair Chance more rein. They raced away in the final stages to score by 12m in a rate of 2:00.9. On the strength of that performance owner-breeder Andrea O’gorman has lots to look forward to.
Pesci takes upper hand
The locals cheered four-year-old stallion Pesci to victory in the $8000 Ken Ward Memorial Pace on Sunday afternoon, with Declan Murphy talking the reins for the training partnership of Shaun and Jason Mcnaulty.
The entire was restrained by Murphy at the start then worked forward three-wide down the back straight to be outside leader at the bell.
With 400m remaining, the tempo lifted as Pesci eyeballed front runner Roscoes Rescue, Chris Alford, and took the upper hand at the top of the home stretch.
Pesci strode to the line five metres clear of the pack to make it four wins from his last six starts for ownersbreeders the Charantoss Racing Syndicate.
Career win for Larsen
Young New Zealander Tristan Larsen celebrated the biggest win of his career when seven-year-old gelding Baxter led from barrier to post to take out the $12,000 St Arnaud Sporting Club Trotters Cup.
Larsen grew up in a harness racing family and made the move across the ditch about three months ago to work for Bolinda horseman and former Kiwi Brent Lilley.
The 20-year-old reinsman made the most of Baxter’s racing manners and smart getaway from the tapes to find the lead after 300m.
Once in front, he rated his charge to perfection with a leisurely mid-race section in 63.5 seconds before upping the ante at the business end of the 2520m journey.
At the post it was Baxter by a neck from the fast-finishing Berriesandcherries, Donna Castles, and Larsen’s seventh victory from just 65 drives.
Outsider victorious
Smythes Creek owner-trainer-driver Nathan Cahir and his five-year-old gelding Telemachus stunned most punters with a 33-1 upset victory in the $12,000 Weirs IGA St Arnaud Pacing Cup.
Courtesy of a slingshot beginning from the outside of the front line at the start, Cahir dictated the contest with
Telemachus, setting a solid tempo and making it tough for those who had settled further back in the field.
Hot favourite and local hope Captain Pins, with Mick Bellman aboard for trainer Denis Mcintyre, made a sustained three wide run with 900m to travel and looked threatening round the home turn, but the outsider of the field had plenty in reserve and scored by two metres in a rate of 1:58.8.
Hoping for good news
Kerryn Manning has endured a tough end to the 2023 season and the news is not getting any better for the champion reinswoman, with recent scans revealing her wrist injury is worse than first thought.
Manning had only just returned to driving from broken vertebrae in her back when she suffered a fall during a heat of the Victoria Oaks at Melton on October 7.
This resulted in what doctors originally thought was one fracture in her left wrist, but further CT scans have discovered it is now four.
“They contemplated surgery, but the bone specialist said two of them are displaced and the others are just bone chips,” Manning told Sentrack on Tuesday.
“So he opted to say no surgery at this stage and just stay in the brace for a further six weeks.
“I do have an appointment with the plastic surgeon on the November 14 to assess the ligaments and tendons.
“They are a little bit worried about the one that’s below my thumb, because it’s still quite sore, so I’m hoping for good news there.
“Hopefully he doesn’t recommend I have to have surgery or anything.”
Given her run of injury, Manning has driven just 12 winners since July.