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Sulky Shorts with Gus Underwood

By Gus Underwood

Sep 29, 2022

Moving in: Conor Crook, pictured with Sinister, who delivered his first winner since training from Shepparton when he scored at Wagga last Friday.

Echuca and district trainers snared winners at Tuesday night’s Shepparton meeting.

Local Geoff Allen scored a well-deserved win with Stormboy Star while Elmore mentor Keith Cotchin struck with the well-bred Diamon Shooz.

A four-year-old son of Follow The Stars out of the Grinfromeartoear mare We Remember, Stormboy Star opened his winning account at his 24th try.

But four top four placings at his previous five starts were good enough for punters to plonk big on the pacer, who started favourite and paid $2.30 for the win.

Top reinsman Chris Alford got the job done on Stormboy Star, who prevailed in a busy finish.

In a good training feat Elmore trainer Keith Cotchin produced three-year-old pacing Diamond Shooz for the first time for six months.

She worked to the front early and defied all efforts to be run down after pulling out a 28.2 final split and 57.3 last half.

A filly by Betting Line, Diamond Shooz is out of the prolific winning mare Perfect Art mare Art Start, who is also the dam of the top pacers Expensive Ego, a winner of 22 races and more than $837,000 in prizemoney and Boodhi Tree, a winner of 26 races.

Diamond Shooz was having only her fifth career start and has two wins and three minor placings so is yet to miss a top three finish.

Crook’s important success

Connor Crook, a new addition to the Shepparton trainers ranks, celebrated his first success from his new stables when pacer Sinister won at last Friday’s Wagga meeting.

The former Tasmanian produced the three-year-old son of Heston Blue Chip for a tough win with a daring drive.

Crook made what proved to be a winning move with a lap to go when he circumnavigated the field with Sinister, who then led for remainder of the 1740m trip.

Crook has now won three races with Sinister from eight starts since taking over the training of the pacer from veteran Leeton mentor Col Thomas.

Two of these wins came in June at Launceston when Crook was training in Tasmania.

They were his last two starts in the Apple Isle before making the move to the mainland.

The pacer has now won six of his 16 career starts with his latest win producing a career best mile rate of 1.56.2.

Crook currently has a team of 10 pacers in work with partner and reinswoman Jordan Chibnall.

He said he could entertain training up to 16 horses and would appreciate any new owners prepared to give him a chance.

Raised in Cowra in central NSW, Crook spent five and half years in Tasmania training and driving and working for top trainers Ben Yole and Rohan Hillier.

He has personally trained 78 winners, and driven between 250 and 300 winners.

He recently represented Tasmania in the Australian Driving Championships at Globe Derby Park in Adelaide in which he drove a winner.

Russell reaps the rewards

Shepparton trainer Russell Jack is not afraid to clock up the kilometres chasing a winner with his horses and he got two positive results from long road trips last week.

On the Friday he produced the talented two-year-old Erupt Stride for a win and Nineteenth Man for a second placing at the Wagga meeting.

Coming off a win at Shepparton at his previous start Erupt Stride, driven by Nathan Jack, went straight to the front over the 1740m trip and put paid to his rivals in the home straight with a blistering 26.5 final split.

It was also PB mile rate of 1.55.7 from his three career wins from six starts.

The next day the Jack-trained two-year-old Be Dazzled made the long trip to Mildura worthwhile when the son of Sweet Lou put up a tough performance to land the major money.

Reinsman Jordan Leedham couldn’t get to the front running position on Be Dazzled and while he was forced to race in the death seat, he was still able to upstage his rivals in a tough effort.

It was only his third race start, but he had already showed his hand is ability wise in his previous start at Wagga when he won in 1.54.9 mile rate time.

Turnbulls strike at Wagga

Craig and Abbey Turnbull have found the Riverina Paceway at Wagga a happy hunting ground in recent times and it was no exception last Friday.

Tatura trainer Craig and his reinswoman daughter Abbey pulled off a double at the meeting.

They struck with the well-credentialled National News and Hiranya, both talented three-year-olds and odds-on favourites.

With his win Hiranya stretched his winning sequence to six, the last four coming at Wagga.

Previously he had won at Shepparton before claiming the Tasmania Derby in Hobart in March.

A son of Bettors Delight out of the Courage Under Fire mare Homefire, Hiranya has now faced the starter 17 times for eight wins and a second.

His biggest test to date comes in a heat of the Victoria Derby at Melton on Saturday night.

National News, who is another three-year-old, made it six wins from 12 starts with his win.

A son of Sportswriter, National News worked to the lead early and was never threatened and his mile rate of 1.54.0 for the 1740m was a PB.

Champagnes a horse to follow

I am taking a keen interest in emerging trotter Champagnes, a winner at Maryborough on Monday for Wedderburn trainer Nick Youngson.

Six years ago, Ken Wills of Girgarre’s Niota Stud asked me could he breed a foal out of a Monarchy mare I owned called Claudys Queen.

She had failed to make it to the track because she wasn’t quire fast enough (sound familiar for some owners I’m sure!).

But Ken liked the fact she was a Monarchy mare - noted good broodmares - and was closely related to Claudys Princess, a five times Group 1 winner, I bred.

He was keen to get a similar cross, putting her to the sire Bicardi Lindy, the sire of Princess.

A filly foal duly resulted and was then broken in by Euroa horseman Cameron Maggs who said he liked the filly.

But on two occasions when she was just days off her first training prep she injured the same leg in paddock mishaps.

Ken then thought it may be better to get a foal and put her to Sebastian K, the quickest trotter ever to stand in Australia.

But sadly Ken passed away before the foal was born and when Ken’s wife Jan decided not to continue with the Niota Stud operations, Claudys Queen was sold in a dispersal sale to Debbie Youngson, Nick’s wife.

Debbie said this week she bought Champagnes because she wanted a foal by Sebastian K to help build up her band of broodmares to put to the stallion, Danny Bouchea, her and her husband stand.

Claudys Queen had a Sebastian K filly foal, but unfortunately she died when only a couple weeks old.

It was then the Youngsons thought they would give Champagnes a chance on the racetrack.

That finally led to Champagnes making her debut on July 20 at Ararat when she ran third.

At her next start she performed more impressively to finish second which was followed up with another third.

Then at her next start a close-up second in quick time at Bendigo after racing in the death seat for the entire race showed Champagnes was a mare making rapid progression.

That was confirmed in her next start at Ballarat when for some unexplained reason she went off stride at the start after scoring up behind the mobile and galloped her way out of contention — well so it seemed.

The commentator estimated she was giving the leaders over 100 metres start when she finally got down and trotting so eyes were popping after she not only caught the field but made an audacious bid to win, going down by just two metres.

And that’s why she started a $1.35 chance at Maryborough on Monday when she produced a sub two minute winning performance over the 1690m trip to get her inevitable and overdue debut win.

Only time now will tell how far her racetrack journey will take her but let’s hope there are more interesting chapters to be played out for the sake of the late Ken Wills and the Youngsons because these are the type of stories which keep people in the sport of harness racing continuing to dream.

Ravishing a horse of talent

Mark Pitt has driven some very talented horses for Emma Stewart and believes rising megastar Captain Ravishing is right up there with the very best of them.

The three-year-old son of Captaintreacherous smashed the clock in claiming the $25,000 Reg Withers Classic at last week’s Kilmore Cup meeting.

Racing away from his rivals at the business end of the race Captain Ravishing rated a track record 1.54.6 for the 2180m trip from the mobile which included a scorching 54.4 last half.

Captain Ravishing has had just the seven career starts for four wins and a second and would have sent a clear message to all his rivals that the Victoria Derby — heats of which are being staged at Melton on Saturday night — look to be at his mercy despite a tricky second row draw and a host of talented in-form rivals in his heat.

Heats of the Derby and the Victoria Oaks at the Melon meeting will be contested by some Goulburn Valley trained pacers.

Craig Turnbull has Hirayna chasing the first heat of the Derby and his seventh consecutive win while Russell Jack (Just Hope).

Steve Duffy (Venitian) and David Moran (Beach Memories) have runners in the Oaks heats.

Rudd-y fantastic

It was a case of boiled lollies to chocolates in the space or five days for Cobram trainer Don Rudd the Shepparton meeting.

The previous Friday, Rudd had made the trip to Wagga with pacer Some Change who bumped into a smart field in the race won by the Craig Turnbull-trained Hiranya, who is unbeaten in six starts in Australia.

Some Change finished last in that race, but less than 13 metres from the winner.

Given the run of the race at Shepparton by concession reinsman Blake Pace, Some Change prevailed by a head over the Jordan Chibnall-driven Arden Roanoke with Feel The Reign filling the minor placing.